The owners of the Houston professional franchises react to Monday’s decision:
More wagering opportunities present challenge of maintaining integrity of games
Professional sports leagues and the NCAA reacted with caution Monday to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning a federal law that limited wagering on sports events, citing concern about maintaining the integrity of their games in an era of expanded betting opportunities.
Some individual owners, however, cited the possibility of financial gain as states — albeit not likely with Texas in the forefront — move to tap into the possibility of tax revenue generated from the tens of billions of dollars invested illegally on sports events.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told CNBC that major team owners “just basically saw the value of their team double.”
Rockets owner and Landry’s chairman Tilman Fertitta was less bullish but still acknowledged the possibility he will benefit from both sides of the ownership-gambling equation through his ownership of Golden Nugget casinos in New Jersey and Mississippi, which will be at the forefront of expanded sports gambling opportunities.
“Do I get a bump on both sides, from the gaming side and the sports side? Definitely I do,” Fertitta said on CNBC.
But he predicted the biggest impact will be as a legal online alternative in some states to the black market online gambling industry, which he estimated attracts $200 billion to $300 billion to offshore operators in Central and South America.
“Where the big movement will be is online gaming,” Fertitta said. “You can just watch for that and book it.”
Fertitta also predicted that Congress eventually will try to enact legislation that will pass constitutional muster and allow some sort of nationwide regulation of sports gambling.
“It has not been 100 percent pushed back to the states. I can guarantee you that Congress is going to stick their nose and their head in the middle of this,” he said.
Fertitta said companies such as his that operate regional casinos in states such as Mississippi, New Jersey and Louisiana will benefit more than operators based in Las Vegas.
As for the leagues, the NBA and NFL expressly, and Major League Baseball indirectly, expressed a preference for a federal standard that would withstand constitutional scrutiny.
NBA wants uniformity
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that while his league prefers a “uniform approach to sports gambling in states that choose to permit it,” it will lobby state legislatures as well as Congress for such a plan.
“Regardless of the particulars of any future sports betting law, the integrity of our game remains our highest priority,” Silver said.
Major League Baseball said the decision “will have profound effects” on its game and said MLB will work with other leagues “to seek the proper protections for our sport.”
“Our most important priority is protecting the integrity of our games,” MLB said. “We will continue to support legislation that creates airtight coordination and partnerships between the state, the casino operators and the governing bodies in sports toward that goal.”
The NFL cited its “long-standing and unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of our game” and was the only league to cite the potential harm posed by sports betting. It also said it will seek congressional approval of a “core regulatory framework” for betting nationwide.
The NHL cited the challenges of “an entirely different landscape” for pro sports but noted that existing state rules remain in place and that the decision will have no short-term impact on the league.
On the union front, the NFL Players Association said it will continue to work with other sports unions on issues of player safety, competitive integrity and privacy and publicity rights.
Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, said leagues and unions must proceed “urgently and thoughtfully to avoid putting our sport’s integrity at risk as states proceed with legalization.”
A piece of the pie
The NBA and MLB are said to be in favor of a state or federal “integrity fee” that would transfer some gambling revenues from casinos to the leagues.
Fertitta told CNBC that casino sports books already operate on a relatively tight profit margin, in the 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent
range, although they also benefit from sports gamblers who spend money in other ways during visits.
“States are going to make more money, but is it the windfall that everybody thinks it is going to be? No,” he said. “Are states like Texas all of a sudden … it’s still regulated gaming. You don’t have gaming in Texas today.
“Everybody thinks there’s this giant windfall and that you’ll be able to do it everywhere and it’s basically going to be regulated just like gaming is today.”
Elsewhere, the NCAA said it “will adjust sports wagering and championship policies to align with the direction from the court.”
In Austin, a spokesman from the Texas Racing Commission said the Supreme Court ruling will have no impact on Texas racetracks without action from the Texas Legislature to provide more wagering options.
Jeff Morris, vice president of Penn National Gaming, the managing general for Sam Houston Race Park, said the company was pleased with the Supreme Court ruling and “welcome(s) the opportunity to discuss legal sports betting with legislators in Austin and other key stakeholders.”