In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutional, paving the way for an expansion of sports betting across the country. In the years since then, that expansion has taken several forms, including the prospect of being able to place bets while practicing your golf game. But the effects of the PASPA decision haven’t just applied to where you can place a bet — they’ve also started to shape the ways we can experience sports.
Last August, the NBA became the first major American sports league to offer alternate game broadcasts where the emphasis is on betting, via NBABet Stream. Now, Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams reports that the league is getting a high-profile partner for their broadcasts: Yahoo Sports.
The first game featuring the new arrangement is set for Friday, when the Memphis Grizzlies play the Los Angeles Clippers. Jared Quay and sports betting analyst Preston Johnson will host; up for discussion, writes Novy-Williams, will be “BetMGM odds, in-game stats and betting trends.”
For basketball fans looking to tune in, the betting-focused stream will be available via NBA League Pass. The article mentions that Verizon’s League Pass package will also be distributing the stream.
“To do a telecast of an NBA game for people who are interested in that game through a betting lens is a natural extension of how the category is going to mature,” Geoff Reiss, general manager of NBA Sports, told Sportico. It’s an understandable fit — and something we’re likely to see a lot more of in the years to come.
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