Former NBA Commissioner Stern talks sports betting legalization benefits at G2E

Stern was the final featured speaker at the American Gaming Association's Global Gaming Expo 2016 (G2E), where he discussed the benefits of legalizing sports betting and how it will ultimately protect the integrity of sports.

Stern and AGA's President and CEO Geoff Freeman discussed the future of sports betting and its impact on major professional sports. Stern touched on the relationship between the gaming industry and major sporting leagues and how they can learn from each other in the future.

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According to Mr. Stern, the best way to protect the integrity of sports is by regulating sports betting

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"The belief that gambling will lead to bad things is an outdated notion," said David Stern. "Let's not talk about the 'evils' of gambling when it comes to sports. The industry has come to accept that a properly run gaming association will be protective towards sports."

Stern, NBA commissioner for 30 years, had opposed most gambling on sports, but now says daily fantasy wagering has paved the way for legal sports betting throughout the United States and that the NBA should go “all in.”

“It seems to be an inexorable march, and it’s time to come up with a strategy that gets the various stakeholders together and see what changes, if any, make sense,” Stern he had already said in comments prior to yesterday's conference. 

When daily fantasy “became a place where people could bet money and make a financial return, I thought that was one of the last barriers to the opposition to legalized gambling on sports.”

For 30 years, Stern helped shape the NBA into the organization it is today. Stern is credited with the increase in popularity of basketball worldwide during the 1990s and 2000s, as well as the creation of the WNBA. Stern oversaw the proliferation of the NBA globally, from it  xpansion into Canada to televised games in countries around the globe.