Once a staunch opponent of the legalization of sports gambling in the United States and specifically in New York and New Jersey, Bettman has shifted gears in recent years. He helped spearhead NHL expansion to Las Vegas, Nevada where the Vegas Golden Knights became the first pro sports team (from the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB) to reside in the gambling capital of the world. Then last October, the NHL formed a partnership with MGM Grand and the hope is that by next season, the league will have sports betting kiosks in its arenas.
“Times have changed,” Bettman told the Washington Post last March. “The concerns we had at 10,000 feet had nothing to do with the integrity of the game. It had to do with atmospherics and the like, and the practical element as to how this was all going to work.
Once the Supreme Court ruled, we got to get with the program. And frankly, as a practical matter, I owed it to our fans, I owed it to our clubs, to embrace the evolving world, whether it’s sports betting or changes in technology. In this day and age, you either evolve or become extinct.”
