Toland, president of Paddy Power North America, has said that the “only way to stamp out corruption is to have a legal sports betting market.”īut what about the integrity of the sport? The N.B.A., N.H.L., M.L.B., N.F.L. Just as drug dealers don’t want their trade legalized, the bookies and offshore books don’t want sports betting legalized. Unfortunately, sports betting has long been associated with organized crime,īut it is time, as with prohibition, for that to come to an end. Illegal sports betting in the United States is exponentially larger. Las Vegas sports books accepted over $3.4 billion in wagers in 2012. Each state’s residents should be allowed to decide whether to legalize sports betting. Why shouldn’t it be legal? Every state, besides Utah, allows some type of gambling, whether it’s scratch tickets at the gas station, blackjack on a riverboat or ponies at the racetrack. Would that be worthwhile, Kelly Stewart writes: In her response to the Room for Debate question, should states be able to legalize sports betting and

Why do you think sports gambling is only legal in a few states? Super Bowl is the biggest event of the year in sports gambling, despite such wagering only being legal in just a handful of states. Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.Īs the introduction to the Room for Debate feature “ The Stakes Off the Field” says, the

Should gambling be allowed