--- title: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games description: NBA commissioner Adam Silver writes that "sports betting should be brought out of the underground" canonical: https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-14T02:41:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:24.502Z article:section: Sports og:title: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games og:description: "Sports betting should be brought out of the underground" og:url: https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte82864016e35fd53/69868cdd3bc999643c1a32d7/486927545.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Oklahoma City Thunder v Memphis Grizzlies - Game Four og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games twitter:description: "Sports betting should be brought out of the underground" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte82864016e35fd53/69868cdd3bc999643c1a32d7/486927545.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: See What You Missed This Week [Watch (HLS stream): See What You Missed This Week](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VmCGKpJz.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2014-11-14. Here are four of the biggest stories for the second week of November._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 14, 2014 2:41 AM UTC  NBA Commissioner Adam Silver NBA Commissioner Adam SilverAndy Lyons—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 14, 2014 2:41 AM UTC NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has penned an [op-ed](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/opinion/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-legalize-sports-betting.html) that calls for the legalization and regulation of gambling on professional American sports. Silver argues in the New York _Times_, published Thursday, that fans already skirt the law to bet on sports games — an estimated $400 billion is wagered per year — and writes that those actions should be controlled. “I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground,” he says, “and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.” He notes that many states sanction other types of betting like lotteries, legal casinos and even online gambling. And he points to global examples like England from which the U.S. could learn. Silver’s message is a radical change from the NBA’s official stance just two years ago, when the league joined the NCAA, NFL, MLB and NHL in suing New Jersey over its efforts to legalize sports betting in casinos and race tracks. The leagues won the suit, though Gov. Chris Christie has since [signed a bill](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/nyregion/christie-unilaterally-lifts-sports-betting-prohibition.html) lifting the ban on betting in the state. But Silver also believes the benefits of legalization on sports gambling outweigh the potential pitfalls: “Without a comprehensive federal solution, state measures such as New Jersey’s recent initiative will be both unlawful and bad public policy.” This isn’t the first time Silver has suggested the NBA would benefit from such a move. “It’s inevitable that, if all these states are broke, that there will be legalized sports betting in more states than Nevada,” Silver [said](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-04/nba-s-silver-says-legal-sports-gambling-in-u-s-is-inevitable.html) at the Bloomberg Business Summit in September. “We will ultimately participate in that.” \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/opinion/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-legalize-sports-betting.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/"},"headline":"NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games","datePublished":"2014-11-14T02:41:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:24.502Z","description":"\"Sports betting should be brought out of the underground\"","url":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/","keywords":["NBA","gambling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte82864016e35fd53/69868cdd3bc999643c1a32d7/486927545.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte82864016e35fd53/69868cdd3bc999643c1a32d7/486927545.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oklahoma City Thunder v Memphis Grizzlies - Game Four","caption":"Oklahoma City Thunder v Memphis Grizzlies - Game Four","creditText":"Andy Lyons—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nba/","name":"NBA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/","name":"NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: Legalize Betting on Pro Sports Games"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See What You Missed This Week","description":"Here are four of the biggest stories for the second week of November.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VmCGKpJz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-14T16:05:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VmCGKpJz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/","duration":"PT1M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```