Kemo
03-14-2023, 09:33 PM
:wwe5:
WWE is in talks with regulators in the states of Indiana, Colorado, and Michigan about legalized betting on “high-profile matches.”
The company is working with EY (Ernst & Young) to secure the secrecy of match results to show the states that betting would not be impacted by results leaking before the matches happen, but a lot of changes would need to happen.
WWE would only have a few people know the finishes of the match, such as Triple H and Bruce Prichard. If it goes through, WWE will have to keep wrestlers, agents, and even the creative team out of the loop until right before an event takes place.
The Argument
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that WWE has been arguing that since there is betting on the Academy Award, they could do the same by using safeguards. However, gambling on the awards is only legal in seven states.
"They're not very receptive to it, not WWE but the commissions. I think one of the commission's pretty much said no. I know one of the major gambling, MGM Grand, and the books there don't want to take any action on professional wrestling. They just thought that the idea was, on the surface, completely ludicrous. Most states do not allow betting on the Academy Awards, which is where WWE…there are states that do, and it’s like seven. Their thing was like, ‘If you can bet on the Academy Awards, why can’t you bet on us, and we’ll do the same safeguards as the Academy Awards do.’ If it were to happen, obviously, we've talked about this before. It's just an incredible headache to the creative team, the wrestlers, everyone. I don't expect anything soon, but they're trying in several states, and we’ll see what happens."
Meltzer added, "It is a disaster waiting to happen, no matter how much safeguards they do. It really is."
WWE is in talks with regulators in the states of Indiana, Colorado, and Michigan about legalized betting on “high-profile matches.”
The company is working with EY (Ernst & Young) to secure the secrecy of match results to show the states that betting would not be impacted by results leaking before the matches happen, but a lot of changes would need to happen.
WWE would only have a few people know the finishes of the match, such as Triple H and Bruce Prichard. If it goes through, WWE will have to keep wrestlers, agents, and even the creative team out of the loop until right before an event takes place.
The Argument
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that WWE has been arguing that since there is betting on the Academy Award, they could do the same by using safeguards. However, gambling on the awards is only legal in seven states.
"They're not very receptive to it, not WWE but the commissions. I think one of the commission's pretty much said no. I know one of the major gambling, MGM Grand, and the books there don't want to take any action on professional wrestling. They just thought that the idea was, on the surface, completely ludicrous. Most states do not allow betting on the Academy Awards, which is where WWE…there are states that do, and it’s like seven. Their thing was like, ‘If you can bet on the Academy Awards, why can’t you bet on us, and we’ll do the same safeguards as the Academy Awards do.’ If it were to happen, obviously, we've talked about this before. It's just an incredible headache to the creative team, the wrestlers, everyone. I don't expect anything soon, but they're trying in several states, and we’ll see what happens."
Meltzer added, "It is a disaster waiting to happen, no matter how much safeguards they do. It really is."