ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt will participate in a keynote session of the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas in October, it was announced Thursday.
The session – titled “The Future of Legalized, Regulated Sports Betting in the U.S.” will take place on Oct. 11 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
The discussion will explore the implications that a legalized sports betting market will have on sports leagues, the gaming industry, and the media.
Van Pelt, the host of the midnight (Eastern Time) edition of SportsCenter, will be interviewed by Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association. The pair will map out the projected sports betting landscape for 2019, and beyond.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May has opened the U.S. for legal sports wagering. Already, casinos and racetracks in New Jersey and Delaware have opened sports books and other states – including Mississippi, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania are expected to open sports books in time NFL and college football season.
Van Pelt, who has been with ESPN since 2001, brings a unique perspective to his SportsCenter show. He also contributes to ESPN’s telecasts of professional golf’s major tournaments, as both an anchor and hole announcer, and he has hosted ESPN radio broadcasts.
“From the start, Scott Van Pelt was one of the first to give attention to the potential benefits of a legal, regulated sports betting market in the United States,” Slane said in a statement. “Now that more jurisdictions across the country have begun offering sports betting, there could be no better time to hear his insight on the evolving state of play and the overarching benefits from this new sector of the American gaming industry.”
Slane helped lead the AGA’s grass roots efforts in support of New Jersey’s legal challenge to PASPA.
The AGA produces G2E in partnership with Reed Expositions.
G2E is scheduled for Oct. 8-11 at the Sands Expo.
