Legalize sports betting worldwide

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and American Pharoah were not the only big winners last weekend. Nevada bookmakers estimated that $80 million would be wagered on the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight — making it the most bet on prizefight in history by a wide margin. Meanwhile, total wagers on the Kentucky Derby topped $133 million nationwide, representing a 4 percent increase from last year.

That Saturday was a great day and night for sports bettors, but it was a perfect example of how the international community should treat sports betting: licensed, legitimate and legal.

The total hauls for the weekend’s marquee events are impressive, but they are dwarfed by the estimated size of sports betting that takes place around the world — an estimated $226 billion to $560 billion annually. On the high end, that works out to about $1.5 billion every day.

In fact, the global sports betting economy is four times larger than the sports economy itself. And none of that, in and of itself, is an issue. A transparent, strictly monitored, well-regulated betting economy poses little threat to the integrity of sport. However, our current system is the opposite: opaque, ignored and far from well-regulated.

Internationally, it is estimated that 80 percent of all sports bets are made illegally, and that’s a serious problem.

Make no mistake, illegal betting is a criminal enterprise. Black market gambling syndicates and operators are often controlled by organized crime. Money bet with a local, illegal bookie can find its way to funding far more dangerous activities. According to research conducted by The Sorbonne and my organization, the International Centre for Sport Security, as much as $140 billion annually is laundered through illegal sports betting.

But illegal sports betting should not just be concerning to law enforcement officials — it should be on the mind of every sports fan.

The reason is simple: Illegal sports betting often leads to corruption. In that way, illegal sports betting undercuts the foundation of integrity, fairness, clean competition and uncertain outcomes — the very reasons we love sports. Every race, fight, game and match becomes a market to be potentially manipulated.

This is not to suggest that the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout or the Kentucky Derby were corrupted in any way. In fact, stewards of American horse racing in particular have been quite successful in cleaning up and regulating the sport. But this system is the exception, not the rule.

That’s why my colleagues and I at the ICSS are kick-starting a new conversation about sports betting — how to make it more transparent, and how to keep it from eroding the integrity of sport.

Sports leaders seem ready for this conversation. Less than six months ago, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came out in support of legalized sports betting, and many executives and owners have followed suit. But while organizations such as the ICSS, as well as leagues, teams and businesses, all have a big part to play, the real onus is on governments to step up and maintain the integrity of sports.

First, governments worldwide need to legalize sports betting, or at the very least bring illegal gambling out of the shadows so it can be kept from influencing the outcomes of sporting events.

Second, governments need to strongly supervise and regulate betting within their borders — as well as work together across those borders to ensure that betting operators are in full compliance of all reporting regulations, so that potentially corrupting wagers can be tracked and monitored.

And third, governments must deploy law enforcement and regulators in pre-emptive investigations to eliminate illegal betting.

Now, there’s one idea that’s conspicuously absent from this list: an outright prohibition of sports betting — and that’s for good reason. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said that, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Although he wasn’t talking about transnational sports betting, his argument surely applies. Like all forms of prohibition, a total ban on sports betting would only drive it underground and make monitoring and policing it far more difficult.

Last weekend, as the other 17 horses crossed the finish line behind American Pharoah, and as the judges read their unanimous decision after 12 grueling rounds at the MGM Grand Garden, millions of bettors were reminded of the truism that there is no such thing as a sure bet.

Except in one particular case.

A bet on a strong international regulatory system for legalized betting is guaranteed to ensure the integrity, transparency and fairness of sport. That’s the only sure winner.

Chris Eaton is the executive director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security.