Becky Quick looked good in red, but maybe she should have worn stripes.
Quick, who anchors the syndicated “On the Money” program on CNBC, in a broadcast that aired on Super Bowl Sunday, found herself playing referee in a lively interview segment between passionate representatives of the debate over national sports betting legalization.
With national interest in expanding legalized sports betting high and rising, and a case at the United States Supreme Court that could lead to the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, it was a great day for a betting showdown. With a nation of football fans preparing to gorge themselves on Super Bowl LII, the timing couldn’t have been better.
On one side, American Gaming Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman, who reminded viewers (for maybe the millionth time) that reliable estimates show Americans spending approximately $150 billion a year on sports betting — 97 percent of it illegally.
“It’s happening in every corner of the country,” Freeman said. “It’s happening with bookies. It’s happening with offshore illegal operators. our point of view is, bring this into regulated, legal markets. Because of the laws in the United States right now, the only people who can’t provide sports betting are legal, regulated companies who can protect consumers in the process.”
Returning Freeman’s kick was Les Bernal, national director of the nonprofit advocacy group “Stop Predatory Gambling,” an outfit my handicappers call the decided underdog in this highly political game. Bernal wasn’t shy.
“What Mr. Freeman didn’t mention, that in 2016, the Economist recently reported, Americans lost $117 billion already to state-sanctioned gambling schemes,” Bernal said. “And adding sports gambling, which would essentially be a form of online sports gambling coming into people’s homes, just worsens this already massive redistribution of wealth in our country.”
He may be right, but in a nation of gamblers he can’t help sounding a little like a prohibitionist at a time polls suggest an increasing majority of Americans favor legalized sports betting. That’s up, CNBC producer Trent Gillies noted in his accompanying report, from when PASPA became law, essentially limiting unlimited legal sports gambling to Nevada.
Bernal was concerned that further legalization would lead to proliferation, but Freeman threw a body block.
“We’re not expanding anything,” Freeman replied, “It’s already happening, number one, so bring it into the legal market so you can actually protect consumers. But we have the point of view that Americans can choose for themselves what entertainment they want to enjoy. Whether they’re spending that money at a ballgame, they’re spending that money at a Broadway play, whether they’re spending that money at a casino, I think we should leave that choice up to them.”
Not sure how many Broadway fans ever lost the rent watching “Rent,” but portraying gambling as just another entertainment option has long been used to counter the narrative that increasingly easy access to legalized and “state sanctioned” gambling helps big operators but hurts the economy.
Bernal said the issue is being “Astroturfed” by the gaming industry.
“There’s no grassroots movement for legalized sports gambling in the country,” he said. “The reason why we’re having this debate is because you’ve had some very powerful gambling interests in concert with a handful of professional sports team owners who are billionaires as well as with a few politicians pushing this.”
He pointed to a 2016 Quinnipiac poll that showed 62 percent of New Jersey residents believe legalized gambling has been bad for the state.
“So this is not something people are pounding the table for,” Bernal said.
Of course, it can also be argued that 62 percent of legalized gambling operators think New Jersey is bad for the industry’s image, but that’s another matter.
Freeman estimated $140 million would be bet legally in Nevada on Super Bowl LII (actually, it was a record $158.6 million). And $4.6 billion would be wagered illegally.
The industry wants a piece of that action and is pressing hard to get access to it.
With the Raiders coming to Las Vegas, the professional leagues warming up to the advantages of legalization, and a friend in the White House, Gaming, Inc. is no longer the underdog.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
