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LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Major League Baseball is insisting to casino executives that the league should get a cut from wagers placed on the sport following the repeal of a federal ban on sports betting.
An MLB executive speaking Wednesday at the casino industry's top trade show in Las Vegas also held that sports books should be required to buy data used to set odds directly from the league.
Kenny Gersh is the league's executive vice president of gaming. He says a proposed 0.25 percent fee is essentially a royalty that casino companies should pay if they are going to make money off of the sport.
He says MLB believes betting on baseball is not appealing to mass consumers, just hardcore bettors, and the league could help change that.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in May allowed states to join Nevada in having legalized sports betting.
Casinos have strongly opposed direct payments to leagues for betting, and MLB and other pro leagues have failed so far to convince any state to build the fees into their laws.
