BetMGM CEO Cautions against Prop Bets on Illegal Sportsbooks

The sports betting expansion across the United States helped bring legal wagering to residents in nearly 40 states. Yet, concerns about the negative impact of the activity, especially around excessive gambling and the integrity of sports, continue to mount.

Recently, amid reports of athletes being abused by gamblers on social media, different leagues and stakeholders supported the idea of implementing a ban on prop bets, especially for collegiate games. The popular prop bets, which gained notoriety recently with disgruntled gamblers threatening athletes after losing bets, were among the topics discussed at a recent keynote session within the SBC Summit North America.

Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM’s CEO, together with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer took the stage for the session that discussed a number of hot topics, including player prop bets and regulations. Brewer spoke about recent issues, including Jontay Porter, the Toronto Raptors’ player tangled in a betting scandal. After an investigation into the player’s activities, he was banned from the NBA over breaches of its gambling policies, including betting on league games, among other issues.

BetMGM’s boss responded that there’s definitely a need to address such issues. Still, Greenblatt refrained from proposing specific actions such as bans for different bet types. The executive said that this is an important topic and added: “I think the steps that we as an industry, our regulators, our lawmakers and our league partners take on this will determine whether we will be successful in looking after our industry and looking after our players.”

The Illegal Sector May Gain Advantage of Potential Prop Bet Ban

Besides effective collaboration between stakeholders, lawmakers, regulators and players, BetMGM’s boss spoke about the importance of the legal betting sector. He said that offering transparent and legal betting activities can help with the integrity of sports, while strengthening partnerships between all stakeholders, including sports teams. However, Greenblatt did not endorse a potential player prop bet ban, outlining that if such bets are not available via the legal sector, they could be available with illegal operators.

“If we’re so naive to believe that the “Under” is not available in the illegal market, then we’re misguided.“

Adam Greenblatt, CEO at BetMGM

According to Greenblatt, instead of taking steps against the legal betting sector, efforts needed to be dedicated to combatting the illegal vertical. He supported the idea of making it difficult for bettors to fund their accounts with illegal gambling operators.

Additionally, Greenblatt said that measures against the illegal sector can include restrictions related to advertising. He reiterated the importance of the legal sector, saying that this is the only way to help generate valuable tax revenue while offering wagers that are fair and policies that can help protect the athletes.