National Basketball Association

NBA commissioner continues to support legalized sports betting

Published Feb. 3, 2015 12:23 p.m. ET

foxsports

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is on the record as an advocate for legalized sports betting, though he's never fully explained his thoughts on the subject. But in a recent interview for the gambling edition of ESPN the Magazine, Silver clarified why he's come out in support of an activity that many view as a threat to the integrity of professional sports.

Nine months later, on a cold January afternoon on the 19th floor of league headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, with Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing" playing, Silver is loose and joking, all the while being prepped for his cover shoot. He's relaxed, though not unguarded. "One of my concerns is that I will be portrayed as pro sports betting," he says. "But I view myself more as pro transparency. And someone who's a realist in the business. The best way for the league to monitor our integrity is for that betting action to move toward legal betting organizations, where it can be tracked. That's the pragmatic approach."