Adam Silver continues calling for regulation of daily fantasy sports
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has once again expressed his support for daily fantasy sports, saying Monday that he believes they should be regulated.
“My view is that daily fantasy should be a regulated industry in New York and elsewhere, and I think ultimately that should be a decision for the voters,” Silver told FiveThirtyEight’s Hot Takedown podcast.
Silver became the first head of a major sport to provide extensive commentary on the recent daily fantasy sports controversy, when he called for regulation of the online games in October.
“[The NBA is] not considering withdrawing or backing off our relationship with the industry,” Silver told ESPN’s Outside the Lines in October. “It’s something that we’re monitoring very closely. And it’s something that we’re deeply engaged in on the broader subject of daily fantasy-slash-sports betting.”
Last month, New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman determined daily fantasy sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel qualified as illegal gambling entities, and thus, ordered them to stop accepting bets from residents of the state. Both daily fantasy sports operators are scheduled for an appeals hearing on Jan. 4.
Silver previously called for regulation of legal sports betting in a New York Timeseditorial last year, before which he spearheaded a deal between the NBA and FanDuel.
