NBA Commissioner open to Christie partnership

Commissioner Adam Silver says he would join New Jersey State Governor Chris Christie in lobbying Congress to set up a federal framework for sports betting in the US.

The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) filed for an injunction against the legalisation of sports betting in New Jersey in October, which was made permanent by Judge Michael Shipp the following month.

But Silver has previously commented in a New York Times op-ed that he is open to the idea of legalising sports betting, providing that each state is given an option to legalise it under a federal law.

Despite this defying the stance of the other leagues, he has now stated that he is willing to partner Christie to make their views clear to Congress.

Silver told ESPN: “Governor Christie, and I'm happy to join him, should turn his attention to Washington, D.C., to Congress, and say: 'Here are all the reasons it should be regulated, but let's come up with a framework that makes sense on a national basis presumably that would allow states to opt in.’”

Sports betting in the US is mostly illegal, due to a 1992 federal law, with most forms of sports betting only being legal in Nevada.

Delaware offers a sports lottery, where players can bet on multiple NFL games with single tickets –established after the state lost a case similar to New Jersey’s.