The Associated Press Sports Editors Commissioners Conference (APSE) took place on Monday, May 6, and Tuesday, May 7 in New York, with the US pro leagues’ power restrictions and prop bets being the main topics of discussions.
The APSE is a national organization dedicated to improving professional standards for sports departments of professional media organizations and recognizing professional distinction among its members.
Since the legalization of the sports betting industry in 2018 and the ensuing phenomenal growth of the sector, the integrity of sports has been inevitably impacted. Notably, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred commented on the issues in both leagues in light of the major gambling violations that occurred over the last two months.
As CasinoGamesPro reported, Toronto Raptors’ former forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA over major violations of its gambling rules. The NBA’s Adam Silver particularly focused on the actions and measures the league could take to exercise authority in such situations.
“We only have so much control,” he said. The commissioner further explained that prop bets “lend themselves to more shenanigans than other kinds of bets.” While some of the illegal betting activity could be monitored to a certain extent, he recognized that a large portion of the sports betting handle belonged to the illegal sector.
Mr. Silver further envisioned the need for a regulated framework, under which the pro leagues would be enabled to cooperate with state monitoring bodies and sports betting companies, irrespective of existing partnerships.
Prop Bets Are Among the Areas of Focus for MLB
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also spoke to conference attendees, highlighting the issues surrounding prop bets. The MLB was similarly rocked by a major gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s long-time interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Although the baseball star was “considered a victim in this case”, his interpreter was charged with bank fraud and theft worth millions of dollars to fund his gambling addiction.
Mr. Manfred said that law enforcement officials had more powerful tools than the leagues. He further commented on the league’s stance on prop bets: “When we lobby in states, there are always certain types of bets that we have lobbied against. I mean, the first pitch of the game, we really don’t want that available as a prop bet.”
Besides Adam Silver and Rob Manfred, the 2024 APSE Conference was attended by commissioners of the National Women’s Soccer League, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League, and the Women’s National Basketball Association. The primary purpose of the meetings has been to discuss the sports betting industry and the challenges that the leagues face.
Since April 30, registration for the upcoming summer conference has been open. It will be held between June 20-22 in Charlotte, N.C.
