Charles Barkley knows a thing or two about sports betting. He’s very open about his affinity for gambling and even has a commercial spot for a popular sportsbook. But even as he profits from the explosion of legal sports betting across the United States, the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer thinks we may have reached a point of excess.
Here’s what Barkley had to say during a media event Wednesday for the American Century celebrity golf tournament, via ESPN:
“There’s too much of it. We’ve got people in the stands betting on who’s going to make the next free throws. Think about that. If I was a scumbag, I’d look at a guy in the stands, a friend, and say, ‘Yo, I’m going to miss both of these free throws.’ Now, that’s cheating.”
Barkley’s right…the limitless explosion of sports betting has definitely created loopholes for exploitation. But here’s the thing, the people who benefit most aren’t about to reverse course. This was always Pandora’s box with legalization. The appeal to states, and obviously the sports betting operators, is money. There was no reason to believe they’d place limits on how much they could make.
For every bettor with a tip, there’s thousands more attempting to multiply their hard-earned money in the dark. States with hard limitations, whether it’s restricting betting in-arena or via mobile devices, are becoming the exception. Eventually the demand will make it so that those limitations fall too. There’s too much money to be made, and too many people willing to help them make it.
The leagues want that money too.
“I had an NBA owner say in the next three to five years … they’re going to be making triple what they do on television revenue,” Barkley said of the financial impact. “And when you get to that point, I think it’s really scary. I mean, c’mon man, if you’re able to bet on if a guy’s going to make two free throws in the middle of a basketball game, that’s obsessive.”
The biggest risk with sports betting is the same as any activity involving gambling: the chance of addiction. So Barkley is right to have some concern. But the reality is, that train left the station a long time ago.