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Should Sports Betting Be Legalized Across the U.S. ?

www.rochester.edu

Why are some forms of sports gambling legal and others are not?  That’s one of the main questions to be discussed at an event on Saturday afternoon as part of the University of Rochester’s  Meliora weekend.

It’s being led by a well-known New York City-based lawyer Arthur Miller, who is a U of R grad, and currently heads up an institute at NYU for sports management, media and business.

Recent news about an inquiry by the New York State Attorney General into a couple of sports fantasy football websites has just added to the discussion about what should be legal in terms of sports betting.

Miller says that laws about sports gambling around the country are too inconsistent right now.

“The existing law sort of immunizes Nevada but not New York, it covers online poker, but it doesn’t cover fantasy sports, it’s like a crazy quilt that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever right now.”

Miller says it may be better just to legalize sports gambling in general, but also find ways to better regulate it.

“It’s the wild, wild west right now, everybody’s making money off it, there is a certain amount of consumer deception and possibly irregularity and that’s the best case for regulation.” 

Miller will lead a panel discussion this afternoon at the the U of R’s Interfaith Chapel from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.