Sports betting is everywhere. The deluge of advertisements and its presence on game broadcasts is now inescapable. Gambling companies now have partnerships with the networks that cover the games and the leagues themselves. But what do the players themselves think about the opening of the flood gates?
The Athletic polled NBA players in their end-of-season survey and specifically asked whether they saw the league’s gambling partnerships as good or bad.
And it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that most players did not find it to be a positive impact. A plurality of the 150 player responses, 46%, called it outright bad. Just 34% responded that the gambling partnerships were good. The remaining 20% either said that it was somewhere in the middle (12%) or that they were undecided (8%).
That 34% approval rating is a full 8 points lower than the most recent for Donald Trump’s job performance as president thus far in his second term if you’re looking for a measuring stick comparison.
The publication shared anonymous comments from players that covered the spectrum of whether these sports betting partnerships were in the best interest of the NBA.
Most of the feedback revolved around direct criticism that players receive when bettors select them and they don’t hit their needed totals. The toxicity of bettors harassing athletes is a huge issue when it comes to gambling on sports, and it’s something the NCAA addressed publicly during the most recent edition of March Madness.
“It’s the dumbest thing ever. Some people just don’t really watch the game. They just look at the numbers. If you mess up someone’s parlay, they bother you — they say some crazy stuff you’ve gotta deal with. They say something about your family. If it was none of that happening, we wouldn’t hear none of that stuff. If you mess up their money or parlay, that’s when they say something to you. So it’s the dumbest thing ever.”
Even players who were in the mixed category saw the revenue coming from sports betting partnerships being helpful, but acknowledged the negative effect on players.
“Obviously, viewership will go up. They watch more because they’ve got money on the game. But also, it’s kind of bad for the game because now people are showing up calling you out your name when you don’t get one more assist. So it’s like, yeah, it’s good for the viewership. But also, the humanity piece of it kind of f—- with the players.”
And it’s particularly relevant for the league since we have already seen one player, Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors, banned for life because of his engagement in a sports betting scheme that saw him purposely leave games claiming to be injured so his unders would cash. And one player predicted that more episodes like that are on the way soon.
“The gambling partnerships are horrible for the league because you guys are selling your soul for the worst types of people in your fan base, and they don’t see us as human beings anymore, which again, they never did. But you’re just going to start seeing more and more of — I hope not — you’re going to see more and more people throwing games because of under-the-table deals.”
That scandal has not dissuaded the NBA from going full-speed ahead on its gambling partnerships. Live lines are given in the middle of game broadcasts, Charles Barkley gives his Same Game Parlays that almost always lose. And it’s now hard to think of a simpler time when sports betting wasn’t covering every inch of professional sports telecasts. Whether it’s in the best interest of the game or its players seems to be beside the point.