With financial losses from the pandemic, MLB is looking for new options for income. In 2020 the baseball season was shorter due to the current situation as fans didn’t go to watch games until the playoffs.
MLB Has the Green Light for Sports Gambling
Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled out the federal ban on legal sports betting in the states. This opened the door for MLB to have the option to make billions.
There are still legal challenges to overcome. For example, will players receive money from the income made by the partnerships? In cap leagues, such as the NBA, the revenues and salaries are linked together even though the unions make sure that the betting revenues are also included.
There is also the issue of baseball’s history with gambling. Baseball was almost destroyed by gambling in 1865 and 1877. In those days gamblers were able to buy off players who were caught and then banned for life.
In the first instance, a New York Mutuals’ catcher was banned from baseball for accepting $100. And the second time was when Louisville Grays lost 7 games in a row. Then it was revealed that 4 players were bought by gamblers. The players confessed that they did it because they didn’t receive their pay and begged to be forgiven. But could this part of history repeat itself today?
Financial Losses Make MLB Look for Revenue in Sports Gambling Partnerships
Financial losses due to the pandemic have shortened the baseball season of 2020, as fans didn’t go to watch the games in person until the playoffs. The Major League Baseball teams are looking for new options for income, following the example of Washington Nationals’ and Chicago Cubs’.
According to a source in the league, it is great that Nationals’ have partnered up with digital gaming company BetMGM. The collaboration included a sportsbook adjacent to Nationals Park, which is the team’s home stadium. The Cubs have also teamed up with DraftKings, a daily fantasy sports contest sports betting operator.
According to Andrew Zimbalist, who is an economist and Smith College professor “MLB is promoting these relationships.” He also stated that if more people watch the games and bet, it will raise the TV revenue and ticket prices depending on when things will go back to normal. Now the sports leagues have another competition and it is on the internet. The competition online is on a different level. MLB will complete on all of the entertainment channels online. Sports betting is a great way to build a solid fan base it seems.