In the wake of the NBA’s betting scandal, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred defended his league’s business arrangements with gambling companies as a necessary tool to catch wrongdoers.
MLB, like all major sports leagues, has both profited from and helped to popularize sports betting since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision made wagers legal throughout most of the country. But prior to Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night at Rogers Centre, Manfred positioned MLB as a league that has adapted to what was foisted upon it, as opposed to a force that has helped to shape the landscape.
