USA: NBA commissioner Adam Silver says that legalisation of sports betting is "inevitable"

The legalisation of sports betting in the United States is "inevitable," especially in the American states in debt, said Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, during the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit in New York on 04/09/2014. Apart from the state of Nevada, sports betting is illegal in the United States.

"It's inevitable that, if all these states are broke, that there will be legalized sports betting in more states than Nevada," said Adam Silver. "If you have a gentleman's bet or a small wager on any kind of sports contest, it makes you that much more engaged in it. That's where we're going to see it pay dividends. If people are watching a game and clicking to bet on their smartphones, which is what people are doing in the United Kingdom right now, then it's much more likely you're going to stay tuned for a long time."

In 2013, according to ESPN, more than $3.6bn (or €2.78bn) were wagered on sports in the state of Nevada.

The NBA achieved a turnover of $5.5bn (or €4.04bn) in 2013-14, said the American media group Bloomberg on 10/07/2014.

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