Could online casinos be the next groundbreaking NBA venture?
All 30 teams in the NBA have partnerships with sportsbooks is a statement that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago
But, the sports betting industry has entrenched itself firmly in the NBA and all of the major four sports in the USA after the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Partnerships have now grown between many major operators and all 30 NBA teams along with every NFL, NFL, and NHL franchise.
There are now major opportunities for all US sports teams to expand their revenue streams using these partnerships. The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken the next step in their partnership by opening a sportsbook within Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, allowing fans to bet on all games from all sports, including live Cavs games.
The Cavaliers are the first team to offer the chance for fans to bet on games through a sportsbook, and certainly won’t be the last. Ohio is one of the 22 states where sports betting has been given the green light, allowing the Cavs to enjoy a license to provide the service, compared to other regions such as California, which will prevent the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors from matching Cleveland for now. But, the betting industry is fast-moving as the last five years can attest. The next frontier could be even more groundbreaking with the potential of casinos on-site at an NBA venue.
LeBron James has spoken of his desire to take an NBA team to Las Vegas to join the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights. A Las Vegas NBA team opens up a realm of possibilities, with the potential of opening casino sites inside the stadia considering the legality of casino games across Nevada.
The ability to play these games in-house and or even through online betting sites could open up revenue streams for NBA teams. Las Vegas seems the most suitable place for his expansion to occur in the short term, but Canada is also an option.
Canada already provides online casino gambling in Ontario, where there are options to find the best online casinos you can try and play with real money. The Toronto Raptors have not explored this venture yet either through a partnership or even a personalized slot game, but they could look to the example of the Cavaliers to make that first step.
The beauty of the NBA is about balance. Every team has an equal chance to win the NBA Championship. But, if teams are able to create larger revenue streams through their advantage of having access to online gambling sites, then it could put pressure on the league and states across the US to help bridge the gap by permitting online gambling.
The betting landscape in the United States was forever changed when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was repealed in 2018. And, it now seems that all options are on the table to use the industry to grow revenue streams and the brand of the NBA and its teams across a new audience online. The last five years have shown how quickly matter can turn and the next five could be equally as exciting.