Page 17 - ARUBA TODAY

A17
Friday 29 March 2019

Pro leagues,

gambling FOR THE

industry

are now

the happy BIRDS

couple

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — A
year ago, Nevada was the
only state where single-
game sports bets were
legal, and NHL Commis-
sioner Gary Bettman ex-
pected to be successful in
persuading the Supreme
Court to maintain that sta-
tus quo. Listen to him now.
"What we've learned is it's
another point of engage-
ment for fans. It started with
daily fantasy sports and
ultimately, I think, if you're
interested in sports betting,
you're going to have an
increased opportunity to
engage in the game," Bet-
tman said Thursday. "Our
hope is it causes people
to watch more games,
whether it's existing avid
fans who consume more
or casual fans who want to
place a bet or two."
Bettman’s reversal on
sports betting has been
quick and dramatic, and
he’s not alone. His com-
ments came at an event
that would have been un-
thinkable as recently as last
summer: a sports gambling
summit at the MGM Na-
tional Harbor casino where
team owners and league
executives celebrated
their newfound closeness
with sportsbook operators.
They sat on panels talking
about the business oppor-
tunities that accompany
legal betting and mingled
over cocktails and hors Yankees look like a monster in
d’ouevres prepared by
celebrity chef Bryan Volt- Opening Day beatdown
aggio. The Supreme Court
ruled last May that any
state can legalize sports
betting if it chooses, and New York Yankees left fielder Giancarlo Stanton, left, and right fielder Aaron Judge, center, react as left fielder Brett Gardner looks
on after they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 during an opening day baseball game at Yankee Stadium, Thursday, March 28,
since then the action has 2019, in New York.
been swift. Associated Press
Continued on Page 22 MLB on Page 19