For years, professional sports organizations such as the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball barred beverage companies from buying ads in stadium and arena locations that could be seen on television, out of respect for efforts to curb drunken driving.
But in 2009, during the worst recession since the Great Depression, the same leagues found themselves struggling for cash as their biggest sponsors — automakers, banks and others — cut back on marketing. Suddenly, they were signing multi-million dollar deals with companies that made rum, tequila, vodka and other hard spirits, and advertising was showing up for everyone.
It was a sign of how excuses can change seemingly overnight, especially when it comes to money. The sports world was reminded of this last week when Miriam Adelson and her trust sold $2 billion worth of stock in the Sands Corporation, a casino management company, to buy a professional sports team, which turned out to be the Dallas Mavericks. (The purchase still needs to be approved by the league’s board of directors before it becomes official.)
“The Adelson and Dumont families are honored to have the opportunity to serve as stewards of this great franchise,” they said in a statement.
For decades, most major professional leagues have largely kept the gaming world at arm’s length. They prohibited players, umpires and owners from gambling on sports to insulate the results of games from any hint of impropriety, a stance that dates back at least a century to the famous Black Sox scandal of 1919.
Some leagues also prohibit owners from owning stakes in casinos. In one case, Dan Rooney, the principal owner of the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers, had to buy out his brothers’ stake in the team because the brothers owned horse races in New York and Florida. The NBA had no such rule and had owners with casino ties, including Tilman Fertitta, the current owner of the Houston Rockets.
“If gambling is freely allowed at sporting events, normal incidents of the game such as bad snaps, dropped passes, turnovers, penalties and calls will inevitably fuel speculation, disbelief and accusations of point-shaving or game-fixing,” the NFL commissioner. Roger Goodell said in 2012.
But at a time when sports gambling — once only in casino meccas like Las Vegas or through bookies — has been legalized in dozens of states, the leagues’ previous approach seems odd. While there are still restrictions on players, referees and owners betting on their own sports, gambling has otherwise been embraced by the mainstream sports establishment.
They have removed restrictions on casino and sportsbook advertising at stadiums and on television. Some stadiums, such as FedEx Field in Landover, Md., the home of NFL officials in Washington, D.C., have sportsbooks inside. Sports betting companies are now plastering their names on signs at stadiums and buying TV ads during games, including the Super Bowl, with all kinds of promotions to attract new customers.
The leagues have also made a candor about operating in the home of sports betting, Las Vegas, which has been off limits for years. Now the National Hockey League, the National Women’s Basketball Association and the NFL have teams in the city. Last month, Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved allowing the A’s to leave Oakland and head to Las Vegas. The NBA, which has held All-Star games, summer leagues and a new in-season tournament in Las Vegas, could add an expansion team to the city in the coming years, which would give every major professional sport a team in a location championships once avoided.
“The leagues are constantly re-examining their operations as laws change, social mores change and different companies and divisions get bigger,” said Marc Ganis, a consultant to several teams and leagues. “This includes a look at ownership rules, sponsorships and advertising.”
Las Vegas’ embrace of the NFL was perhaps the most surprising, given the league’s conservative reputation. The Raiders won approval to move to the city in 2017. The league has held the Pro Bowl and college draft on The Strip. And in February, the championship event – the Super Bowl – will be played in Las Vegas, removing perhaps the last vestige of any distance between it and the city.
The re-evaluation of the leagues was both practical and strategic. The biggest break came in 2018 after the Supreme Court ruled that a law that banned sports gambling in most of the country was unconstitutional. Dozens of states quickly legalized sports betting, reducing the amount spent in Las Vegas. The NFL now allows owners to own stakes in casinos that do not have sports betting, although it limits owners from having more than a 5 percent stake in casinos that do allow sports betting.
“Las Vegas is accepted not so much because of us, but because gambling is almost everywhere now,” said Michael Green, a historian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “The Strip is as legitimate as any big business.”
At the same time, the image of Las Vegas as a desert oasis of casinos and nightclubs under the thumb of the mob changed dramatically in the 1990s, when The Strip was transformed into an urban theme park where parents could bring their children. Many visitors now come to see shows like U2 at the Sphere or Cirque du Soleil’s latest extravaganza as much as to visit the casinos.
And while Las Vegas is relatively small, with a population of about 2.5 million in the area, it has been able to support teams like the NHL’s Raiders and Golden Knights because the city is a year-round destination, drawing about 40 million tourists annually.
“There is a whole new demographic being exposed to sports gambling by visiting Las Vegas,” said Jay Kornegay, the vice president of Race and Sports Book Operations at Westgate Resorts.
Mr. Green noted that the Smith Center for the Performing Arts and the Mob Museum, which both opened in 2012, also gave the city a flavor of sophistication it had been missing. He recalled how just 20 years ago, the NFL barred Las Vegas from buying ads during the Super Bowl, a decision that now seems antiquated.
“Remind me,” he said, “where is the next Super Bowl?”
Kevin Draper contributed to the report.
