Sports betting is a highly regulated industry, with each state having the ability to determine whether or not it will permit legal gambling. As such, the sportsbooks and books that offer wagers outside of these strict licensing regimes are considered unlicensed and in violation of state law.
The NBA has banned players, coaches and front office personnel from placing bets on their own games, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t place bets on other teams or on non-NBA events. The NBA constitution and collective bargaining agreement both explicitly prohibit players from betting on NHL games, but the league does not have a formal policy that addresses where or when it is appropriate to make a bet.
Betting on sports comes in many forms, from betting that a team will win to bets on specific points spreads and totals. Each type of bet has its own unique terminology and odds, but at the end of the day it is all about placing a bet on an outcome that you think will occur and getting paid if that bet is correct.
The NFL once feared that legal sports betting would ruin the integrity of its games, but now it embraces the practice. The league has partnered with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars to provide betting options for fans in states where it is legal. Moreover, there are even sportsbooks inside some NFL stadiums on game days. And with more states poised to introduce sports betting in 2022, it is a safe bet that the number of legal bets will continue to climb.