Maloofs ‘Thrilled’ With Idea of Legalized Betting

Shocker! The guy who owns a casino is happy with the possibility that the NBA may consider legalized gambling on its games: “Perhaps no owners have been so thrilled to hear the commissioner’s office could be softening the NBA’s stance on legalized sports betting as the Maloofs. When the Maloof family bought the Sacramento Kings a decade ago, they agreed to eliminate NBA odds from its Palms Casino sports book in Las Vegas. In 2007, the Maloofs convinced commissioner David Stern to let the Palms take bets on every team but the Kings. Now, the possibility of Stern starting a conversation within the NBA about the eventual embracing of sports betting has Joe and Gavin Maloof prepared to campaign with the commissioner. ‘I’m thrilled to hear him say that,’ Joe Maloof said on Monday. ‘I think it does two things: First, it legitimizes gambling. It regulates it. That’s the most important thing. It’s clean. It’s honest. It’s fair. And then it creates a tremendous excitement for your product. People react differently when they have a bet on a game versus when they don’t. This is going to bring in great interest. If it’s regulated properly, this can be a tremendous revenue source for the league.'”