As much as I am enthralled by the NBA playoffs, I am also worried by the growing prominence of betting in professional basketball. Wagering on the sport is becoming more important than the sport itself and to the detriment of the competition.
I don’t think sports betting should be illegal, as I believe consenting adults should be free to engage in capitalist acts — and besides, black-market betting would occur anyway. But increasingly betting is an integral part of the NBA fan experience, in much the same way it is the main reason people go to the racetrack.
The Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards, is the first professional U.S. sports arena to create a betting parlor right inside. The ESPN web site is unabashed in discussing betting odds on the games, and on TNT, playoff-game halftime reports now consider betting odds as well.