The American Gaming Association (AGA) recently announced that, in partnership with leading industry experts, it has been selected by a popular vote for a first-of-its-kind panel discussion on regulated sports betting at the 2017 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference.
According to the AGA’s press release, the panel — “Sports Betting: No Longer Taboo for Leagues?” — will explore major sports leagues’ long opposition to legalized sports betting and how they are now reconsidering that stance.
Partnerships with daily fantasy sports sites and a willingness to place pro sports franchises in Las Vegas – along with a change in the public perception about gambling – calls into question the fate of the current federal sports betting ban, which Congress could soon seek to overturn.
“The current approach to sports betting has failed and is driving a $150 billion illegal, underground marketplace,” said Sara Rayme, senior vice president of public affairs at the AGA. “South by Southwest is a renowned forum for soon-to-breakthrough issues and it’s clear that sports betting is nearing its tipping point.”
In addition to Rayme, the panel will include Andrew Brandt, NFL business analyst at ESPN and director of the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for Sports Law at Villanova Law School; Daniel Wallach, a leading expert on sports betting law and attorney at Becker & Poliakoff PA; and Gabe Feldman, legal analyst at NFL Network and director of the Tulane Sports Law Program.
SXSW 2017 takes place March 10-19 in Austin, Texas.
The date for AGA’s sports betting panel has not been released.
