Bettman panelist at Las Vegas G2E (gaming industry convention)

[LadyStanley]

NHL’s Gary Bettman goes from betting opponent to advocate

Bettman, who has been NHL commissioner since 1993, had the same concerns as other major sports executives about how betting on games could corrupt the sport and lead to untold integrity issues.

“Whether or not I thought sports betting 27 years ago was a good idea and intellectually and emotionally, I always had the concern about what we would do to sports,” Bettman said during the panel discussion with CEOs Joe Asher of William Hill US, Matt King of FanDuel and Greg Carlin of Rush Street Gaming. “There’s nothing wrong with jai alai or horse racing, but we’re something different.”

But Bettman said once it became evident that the U.S. Supreme Court was going to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, opening the door to nationwide sports wagering, he knew he had to change his tune.

“None of that really mattered once the Supreme Court ruled,” Bettman said. “And at that point in time, I felt it was our league’s obligation to use the opportunity for sports betting to engage as many sports fans as possible and make sure our existing fans had a compelling experience if that’s what they wanted to do and maybe this was an opportunity to engage new fans who never focused on hockey. Once the Supreme Court ruled, it was no longer subject to debate, so we had to get with the program.”

Was also at VGK game this week and spoke on local game intermission talking about VGK game presentation and more.

Nothing earth shattering, in hindsight, but nice to see him participating and putting the league forward.

(Perhaps they'll finally split out the NHL rather than lumping it in "other sports" in monthly reports. )

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

NHL Commissioner says sports betting integration will be part of the league's media deals

Also from convention

The NHL’s 10-year television broadcast rights agreement with Comcast — owners of NBC and NBC SportsNet — expires after the 2021-22 season. In negotiations for the next broadcast agreement, how to integrate sports betting content will be part of the conversation. “I have more than a sense that some of the discussions are going to be on how our broadcasts can be integrated with a sports betting app or experience,” Bettman said.

Hmmm. Guessing more stats integrated as well


And Bettman indicated that the NHL will be pushing 5G in all arenas too.