NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum has said the league is hoping the US will implement a federally regulated sports betting system.
Speaking to SportBusiness at the FIBA World Basketball Summit, Tatum said it would be much easier to uphold integrity in a model maintained by the government.
Since a Supreme Court ruling struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May, states are now allowed to decide for themselves on whether or not to allow sports bets.
Tatum is quoted as saying: “There's been some recent interest by the federal government, who have indicated that they think maybe there should be some broad set of federal regulations which we would obviously be in support of.”
Some of those suggested regulations include coming to an agreement on who is permitted to place a wager.
This belief contradicts a statement from Sara Slane, Vice President of Public Affairs for the American Gaming Association, who said that it is a “complete and utter fallacy” that a federal regulatory framework is necessary.
Slane told Gambling Insider: “We’ve got a lot of work to do as far as educating members of Congress about our industry is concerned, so they understand just how strictly regulated our industry is.”
