All bets are off on slam dunk contest

Sportsbooks in the United States are not taking action on the NBA AllStar Slam Dunk Contest.

PointsBet spokesman Patrick Eichner said New Jersey’s Department of Gaming Enforcement told the sportsbook it could not offer odds on the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest because the judges of the contest are celebrities and are not covered under the NBA’s betting integrity policy.

Indiana also did not approve the dunk contest to be offered by the state’s sports betting operators for the same reason, Jenny Reske, deputy director of the Indiana Gaming Commission told The Action Network.

The Skills Competition and the Three-Point Contest can be offered because the winner is determined on the basketball court.

Offering odds on events not determined on the field of play has long been considered taboo by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and, more recently, gaming authorities in legal betting states, because subjective decisions can be influenced. But exceptions have been made. Both New Jersey and Indiana posted odds for the Gatorade color prop on Super Bowl Sunday, but Reske said that’s because anyone influencing what was in the buckets, or poured on the coach after the game, is covered by the NFL’s integrity policy.

Even though journalists, who aren’t bound by league integrity policies, vote for MVPs, states that allow legal sports betting have typically allowed operators to offer those markets.

Neither New Jersey nor Indiana offered odds on the halftime show or the length of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

New Jersey allowed betting on the Oscars but only at books licensed within the state who had casinos.

The NBA has yet to announce who will be judging the Slam Dunk Contest, which takes place Saturday night.