Las Vegas is getting a NHL team, a tremendous accomplishment for a city that have been shunned by the most important professional sports leagues up until very recently.

The American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s top lobbying group in Washington D.C., says that the hockey team is “breaking the Las Vegas dam.”

In a press release explaining the will for federal sports betting legislation, AGA CEO Geoff Freeman said that the NHL is “pouring cold water at the argument that regulated sports betting harms the integrity of sports.”

He added that the yet-to-be-named Las Vegas team may be “boosting efforts to legalize sports betting around the country.” Betting on single games is solely allowed in Nevada, while Delaware has parlay betting. A 1992 federal law called the pro and Amateur Sports Protection Act limited sports betting to simply a handful of states that chose to be grandfathered in.

New Jersey, home to struggling Atlantic City, have been unsuccessful in court up to now in undoing its mistake of selecting to not be one in every of them. Pennsylvania has taken a more cautious approach by indicating it wants sports books if federal law is changed.

Sports betting in Nevada is at record levels, with the handle in 2016 expected to approach $5 billion. That may be another all-time high. The records are especially noteworthy because Las Vegas is relying less on gambling than ever before.

Freeman said earlier this year that “the next president goes to have that issue of legalizing sports betting on their desk, and I’m confident they’ll make the appropriate decision.”

The commissioner of Major League Baseball recently said that he sees Las Vegas as a “viable” option for a variety team. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this spring that he has “evolved a bit of on gambling.” Those comments come because the Oakland Raiders consider an offer to transport to Sin City. Stadium sites are already under discussion.

“If sports leagues are all for the integrity of games, then Las Vegas is the most productive place for a team to play,” Freeman said earlier this month. “As we’ve seen in Nevada and in Europe, a legal, regulated sports betting market brings much-needed transparency so as to spot suspicious activity. Yet in a few of the United States, Americans bet no less than $150 billion a year through bookies and illegal, and frequently offshore, websites.”

According to the AGA, 81 percent of NFL teams (26) play within an hour drive of a brick-and-mortar casino, with half them being just 11 miles from the closest casino.

The explanation for the leagues softening their anti-gambling positions is thanks partly to 2 thirds of fans saying they follow teams more closely if they’ve placed a chance. A whopping 70 percent surveyed said they're likely to watch a game if they’ve put some money on it. Those are powerful statistics from the AGA.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]