Is Sheldon Adelson Cozying Up to Legalize Sports Betting?

• Adelson is a major donor to the GOP party and big backer of newly elected US President Donald Trump
• Adelson owns a newspaper where a mostly positive piece appeared about legalizing sports betting
• Report concludes decriminalization would renew respect for the law by individuals who see gambling on sports as a valid form of entertainment for adults
• Adelson has previously tried to get legislation passed that would prohibit online gambling

Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson is showing signs he may be open to legalize sports betting.

The significance of this cannot be understated.

Adelson is not just one of the richest men on the planet, he just happens to be a major GOP donor and a backer of newly elected US President Donald Trump, albeit he was a bit late to jump on the bandwagon.

The question as to whether Adelson may soon embrace legalized sports betting comes in the wake of a piece on the subject appearing in the Las Vegas Review Journal. 

It’s a positive piece, and that’s important as Adelson happens to own the LVRJ.  In fact, the Las Vegas Review Journal was one of only a handful of newspapers to publicly endorse Trump prior to Election Day.

An excerpt from the article:

The Titch and Minton report supports the position that eliminating the ban would generate tax revenue and help professional and amateur sports leagues bolster the integrity of games because bettors and bookmakers would have a vested financial interest in a game’s outcome.

“Legalizing sports betting would produce substantial social and political benefits by exposing billions of dollars in economic activity to the sunshine of legitimacy,” said Minton, a Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow specializing in consumer policy.

“Decriminalization would renew respect for the law by individuals who see gambling on sports as a valid form of entertainment for adults. Allowing bookies and authorities to work together to stop match fixing — which is in both of their interests — would bolster the integrity of sports,” she said.

The article also appears the day it was revealed that Adelson may be trying to sell his Bethlehem, Pennsylvania casino.  Legalized sports betting on that property would most certainly help boost the sales price.

Adelson has publicly pushed for online gambling prohibition, though primarily focusing on Internet poker and casino games.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com