Everyone wants piece of sports gambling action

With the Supreme Court poised to rule on a case that could end the federal ban on sports gambling, more than a third of U.S. states consider legislation to get in on the action.

With the Supreme Court poised to rule on a case that could end the federal ban on sports gambling, more than a third of U.S. states are considering legislation to get in on the action, and professional leagues and casino interests are lobbying against each other for the biggest cut of the winnings.

The push to legalize betting on sports has already led to fractures in an uneasy alliance that had developed between leagues and gambling legalization advocates before Supreme Court arguments last fall.

The NBA and Major League Baseball have been asking states to give them 1 percent of the total amount wagered on their games, calling it an “integrity fee” so they can protect their products and snuff out attempts at cheating and game-fixing.

“Now, let’s be clear — that’s just a euphemism for a cut of the action,” Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill U.S., a sports book operator, told New York state lawmakers in January. “There will be plenty of financial benefits to the leagues.”

Gambling proponents say kicking back that much to the leagues would make sports books unprofitable and prevent a legal, regulated betting market from developing. They’re seeking an arrangement similar to what exists in Nevada, where the state takes 6.75 percent of winnings on top of a federal tax of 0.25 percent of the amount wagered.

Casinos have a built-in edge when it comes to battling in statehouses. Casinos are legal in 40 states; the commercial companies and American Indian tribes that run them are wellversed in dealing with regulators and state lawmakers. The NBA and MLB, on the other hand, are new to lobbying states on gambling and have sometimes relied upon the bully pulpit of their commissioners to get their point across.

“The leagues feel like they’re out of their element, and that’s making them uncomfortable,” said Kevin Braig, a Columbus, Ohiobased attorney, gambling industry analyst and handicapper. “The gaming industry lobbies all the states. I think it goes even beyond that: They’re almost partners in what they’re doing. They have a very close relationship because they have very closely overlapping interests.”

Before the Supreme Court heard New Jersey’s challenge to the 1992 federal law limiting sports betting to the four states that already had laws on the books, casino interests — and their influential trade group, the American Gaming Association — were encouraged by the professional leagues’ changing attitudes about gambling, even as leagues argued before the justices that the ban should remain.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said betting should be legalized and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said it could enhance fan interest in the sport.

Although the NFL remains publicly opposed to gambling, Commissioner Roger Goodell has said his position has “evolved.”

The NFL and the NCAA have sat out the debate entirely in states considering legislation.

MARK J. TERRILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference at the baseball owners meetings in Los Angeles in February.