"Gambling is so — the threat of gambling, and to create more threats, is to me — I'm stunned. ... I'm appalled . I' m really appalled. ... It's beyond belief."
MLB commissioner Bud Selig, December 2012
"Gambling in terms of our society has changed its presence on legalization, and I think it's important for there to be a conversation between me and the owners about what our institutional position will be."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, February 2015
Welcome to the dialogue, Commissioner. The conversation has begun, in earnest. An energized debate over legalizing sports betting in the United States is taking place, and experts believe it could become reality in as soon as five years.

"I do believe it's coming," said Sean Sullivan, general manager of The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in North Strabane.
"No doubt about it," said Las Vegas bookmaker and Trafford native Jimmy Vaccaro, "the walls are crumbling."

Sen. John McCain in January said Congress should hold hearings on legalized sports betting, and the American Gaming Association, a national trade group representing the casino industry, for the first time formed a task force to study the subject. In November, a New York Times op-ed piece by NBA commissioner Adam Silver calling for legal sports betting caused shock waves.

"I think everyone realizes there has been a lot of discussion about this," said task force head Sara Rayme, the AGA senior vice president for public affairs. "Everyone is questioning if the status quo works right now."
Sports betting is legal in four states — Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana — but confined mainly to Nevada. To the antigambling forces, what happens in Vegas (and within state lines) should stay there. But that's hardly reality. The AGA conservatively estimated bettors illegally wagered $138.9 billion on sports last year. Other estimates reach as high as $380 billion, including $9 billion on March Madness (including office pools) and $3.8 billion on this year's Super Bowl.

The idea of legalizing sports betting is far from new. In 1950, for example, New York City mayor William O'Dwyer proposed statewide enactment to raise revenue. Comparing illegal sports gambling to Prohibition, he acknowledged what many (as now) believed to be true: "The public generally is interested in sports not only from the standpoint of the sports themselves but also from the pleasure they get from betting on sports." The idea never had a chance.
Today, opposition remains, much of it entrenched. But public perception is changing. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie twice has pushed a sports legalization bill successfully. The first time, voters approved a referendum by a 2-1 margin. The second time, both government chambers overwhelmingly approved.

On both occasions, opponents — that is, the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and the NCAA — managed to send it back to the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against the bill the first time. It is expected to return another ruling by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, technology — primarily the Internet and the ubiquitous smart phone — has made it easy to place a bet with any one of about 200 online sports books outside the U.S. This is illegal. However, to anyone's knowledge, no bettor has been prosecuted.

With soaring participation fueled by sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings, fantasy sports draw huge interest. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimated people spent $15 billion last year on various forms of the concept. That number likely is higher now. Legally, fantasy sports are not considered wagering. Practically, many see it differently.
"It's real gambling," said New Jersey lawyer Dennis Drazin, who is fighting for legalization in his state. "I don't think it's something else."

A bill that would allow people to play fantasy sports in casinos is before the Pennsylvania Legislature. Would that not make it a form of betting?
"I don't know," said Rep. John Payne (R-Dauphin County), majority chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee. "Is it now?"
The answer is no, thanks to a loophole in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The law makes it illegal to transfer funds to online sports books outside the country — which happens to be all of them — but exempts fantasy sports because they are considered games of "skill" as opposed to "chance."

Many gamblers would beg to differ.

'INEVITABLE'
"Gambling is something that is a lot more prevalent and accepted today than it was 20 years ago. It is more prevalent and accepted throughout the world."
The speaker was Dan Spillane, NBA vice president and assistant general counsel. Spillane helped Silver draft what eventually might be seen as a landmark statement in the campaign to legalize sports betting.

Writing in the Times, Silver applied a full-court press to the 1992 law that prevents legal sports betting, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The NFL and the other major sports leagues lobbied hard for its passage.
But times have changed, Silver noted. Acknowledging the vast sums illegally wagered in the U.S. and the legality of sports betting outside the country, and insisting on strict federal control, he wrote "the laws on sports betting should be changed."

"I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated," wrote Silver, crystallizing the views of his predecessor, David Stern. (Because the NBA wants federal regulations as opposed to each state passing its own legislation, the league remains against the New Jersey bill.)
Several NBA owners, notably former Mt. Lebanon resident Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, joined the chorus. Then Manfred went against his old boss, Selig, affirming the same viewpoint on behalf of MLB.

"I anticipated it would prompt a discussion, and we were pleased and we still are pleased with the quality of that discussion," Spillane said told Trib Total Media. "I think a lot of voices are contributing to it. It's a discussion we haven't had in a long time."
Spillane has no timetable for legalization. There is much work to be done, "but there does seem to be progress," he said.
Even if the New Jersey effort fails again, Drazin said he believes legalized gambling nationwide is "inevitable" in five to 10 years. "It's time to bring it out of the closet," he said.
Sports marketer Joe Favorito also called it inevitable.

"I think the climate has changed," he said. "The regulations are changing. The technology has changed. People talk long and hard about what's going on in the rest of the world. And the United States is in the best position to make sure it's lucrative and safe."
Paul Bessire, who designed a website called predictionmachine.com that provides analytics to prospective bettors, said leagues would gain an added audience from legalization. That would translate into added revenues.

"Their benefiting and profiting would be based on the fact that more people are interested in every single game," he said.
"There's way too much money in terms of branding the leagues and teams letting that get away.
"It makes no sense for it not to be legal."

FIGHT FOR CONTROL
Many politicians, members of the gaming industry and everyday people who want to bet agree with that assessment. On the other side is a large and formidable army attacking legal sports betting primarily on moral grounds.

The NBA and MLB might be coming around, but the NFL, NHL and NCAA remain against it. Vaccaro calls the NFL "the gorilla in the room," the main stumbling block on the path to legalization.
"We oppose sports gambling," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters in April. "We haven't changed our position on that, and I don't see us changing our position."

Yet, as has been widely noted, the NFL actively partners with DraftKings and FanDuel and annually schedules games at London's Wembley Stadium, located within walking distance of about 30 legal betting establishments. The league also has mentioned putting an expansion team in London.
Industry experts note that since sports betting became legal in Great Britain in 1961, game-fixing — the greatest fear of any sports league — and other scandals in British soccer have dropped. The same argument is being made for legalization in the U.S.

Increased monitoring brought about by legalized gambling "would show more (irregularities) and quicker," said Vaccaro, who helped uncover the Arizona State men's basketball point-shaving scandal in the 1990. "We could control it more."

This is a reprint from triblive.com. to view the original, click here.