For More on the Poll, Read the February 16 Edition of ESPN The Magazine
A new poll conducted by US cable sports network ESPN for its February 16 edition of ESPN The Magazine shows that 63% of pro athletes believe sports betting should be legalized in the United States. The ESPN research goes to the heart of the current public debate over sports gambling in the USA. At present, the top sports associations are involved in a bitter legal struggle with the state of New Jersey about whether sportsbooks should be legal, or whether the current federal ban in all but four states should remain in place.
The pool sample for the scientific polls is low. Most political polls involve samples of 500 to 1000 people, though those polls draw from a much larger demographic. The ESPN poll asked questions from 73 responders, so the more scientific gaming fans might call the research into question. ESPN polled 73 current players from the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball. Of those athletes, 63% answered they would like to be sportsbooks legalized in the United States.
Gambling Habits of Pro Athletes
The poll also showed the gambling habits of U.S. athletes. Of those polled, 58% said they had engaged in gambling activity in the past. Of the same sampling, 34% said they had wagered on sporting events.
How Gaming Data Affects Sports Leagues
Those are important pieces of data, because the four leagues from which the athlete sample is drawn are currently in a lawsuit to prohibit the spread of sports gambling in the United States. The leagues state an increase in legal sports betting would endanger the welfare of their sports, because it would undermine public confidence in the outcome of games.
That’s another reason the percentage of sportsmen engaging in betting, especially sports betting, is important. While there are concerns that athletes might be paid by organized crime or other types of match-fixers, most concerns have to do about whether an athlete would bet on a game in which they’re involved. In short, the biggest concern is whether athletes might prefer to win bets than win games (or matches).
Concerns of the Athletes
Despite the generally positive results from the perspective of gambling proponents, the poll also indicated serious concerns on the part of athletes about the impact of gambling on their games. Nearly 37% of the players responded that they feared a current or former teammate might have a gambling problem. Also, 41% said they feared whether sports gambling would call into doubt the integrity of their games.
When asked about match-fixing or point-shaving, the numbers dropped significantly. Despite that, the numbers are likely to make sports executives and fans wary. A full 10% of the players said they had been approached to get information about their games, presumably from illegal bookmakers or match fixers.
Suspicions of Fixed Games
3% of the responders said they had suspicions they had taken part in games that were fixed. That is, they said they played in games in which the actions of either their teammates or competitors were suspicious enough that the responder had questions.
The History of Cheating
The fixing of games or matches has been a part of sports since the beginning, or at least as long as people have wagered on sports. Major League Baseball has been plagued by the most famous scandals, including the 1919 Black Sox scandal and the more recent Pete Rose gambling scandal.
Professional boxing fans have long suspected matches were fixed, either through boxers taking dives or by the paying-off of judges. In one case, the scoring was taken to Mexico City, so investigators could not see how judges arrived at their totals. In the 1988 Summer Olympics, Roy Jones was robbed of the Gold Medal by judges. Only after the fall of the Soviet Union did records emerge which proved that Jones had been robbed, though everyone who knew anything about boxing knew it at the time.
Does ESPN’s Research Matter?
As with most matters involving the management of pro sports, the front offices of the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL are not likely to be swayed by player sentiment. That’s why each group of players have their Players Association, because the leagues otherwise would pay no attention to their wishes. In the end, the leagues only will respond to the reaction of their fanbase.
There is evidence that leagues are starting to take notice. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred have each expressed publicly that they believe that their leagues’ stances on gambling can and should be made. Silver and Manfred are still involved in the lawsuit against New Jersey, so it’s easy to overstate their new position, but any softening on the issue is a good sign–and both reflect a general cultural trend towards more acceptance of gambling.
Adam Silver is 20 years younger than David Stern. Rob Manfred is 25 years younger than Bud Selig. Those generational differences are reflected in each man’s attitude towards gambling. In 1989, only two states allowed legal gambling. Now, 43 states have lottery betting and 29 states allow casino gambling, so the American public has embraced gambling–at least the younger generations have. That’s why the ESPN poll should be taken seriously by the leagues, because it can be seen as an indication of the attitudes of American males in their 20s and 30s–the prime audience for all four of the major sports leagues.
