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Originally Posted by thaskalos
We mustn't forget that sports betting isn't entirely "underground and illegal" now. If the current betting action in Nevada hasn't influenced the coaching of the games until now...why should it do so in the future?
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The leagues are not behind betting in Vegas. That is a Vegas thing. They may have some cooperation with each other to make sure there is no point shaving type activity going on, but that is the extent of it.
Once this gets legalized in states throughout the nation and the leagues start getting their "integrity" fee or whatever they end up calling it, they now have the responsibility to insure that gambling is fair. To me as someone who bets a lot of basketball games, I realize that the random crap that happens at the end of games is part of the process. A lot of times the difference between a good season and a not so good season is having a lot of those late game situations go against you rather than for you.
But we are talking about 5 years in the future when sports betting is established just about everywhere and the sports leagues are very involved in the process. I know the NBA is going to want everybody in the stands on the phone betting on whether the next free throw is going in or not, who will reach 75 points first and which player will score the most points or get the most rebounds or who scores 1st Kevin Durant or J Harden.....
So when the home team is -13 and are up by 14 with 2:21 to go and the Coach yanks his starters, are the 4000 people in the stands who have bet their hard earned money on the home team, going to sit idly by and say "oh well, sure hope the reserves preserve the cover", or are they going to be screaming at the coach to get those starters back in?
I would even go as far as to say that rather than using win/loss records, using a hockey like point system where the winning team would get 1.5 points for a win and cover, 1 points for a win and non cover, 1/2 point for a loss and cover 0 points for a loss and no cover(you could even factor in pushes with 1/4 point adjustments), would make for a more interesting way of seeding teams rather than the traditional win/loss record. It certainly would make the game more interesting from the fans perspective whether they are betting or not if the team gets more points or winning and covering then winning and not covering and it certainly would motivate the teams to try to cover spreads. That would certainly be in a betting public's best interest.
