The NBA officially wants to legalize sports betting — and it wants a cut

NBA bets.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The NBA is ready to go all-in on legalized gambling.

ESPN reported Wednesday that the NBA has "formally requested" a set of guidelines by which it would abide gambling on its games, the latest in a series of signals that the league has warmed to the idea of sports betting. The NBA's proposal stipulates that it receive a 1 percent cut on any bets that are made on its games, which "could create massive revenue" for the league, ESPN explains.

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Critics of sports betting have long claimed that its legalization could corrupt sports leagues and lead to cheating and fixing of games. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case to legalize sports betting in New Jersey at some point this year — a decision that ESPN explains "could clear the way for individual states to legalize sports betting at casinos and racetracks."

Under current federal law, sports gambling is only legal in Nevada. Read more at ESPN.

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Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.