The NBA appears to be ready to lobby Congress to legalize and regulate sports betting in the US, a shift in the pro basketball league’s public stance from just a year ago. The NBA publicly talked about its intent to lobby Congress for the “federal framework” it has long espoused at the Sports Betting USA conference that is taking place in New York City this week. Here’s a synopsis of what NBA Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel Dan Spillane said: “We have advisors in DC & legislation we’re pulling together with our commissioner who jump started the conversation…

The support of NBA fantasy sports looks promising, as the league has agreed a multi-year deal with sports entertainment company PlayON to launch daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests in regions around the world. PlayON will serve as the official daily fantasy partner of the league in a selection of major markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The partnership will cover the launch of DFS competitions in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK in Europe, as well as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in Latin America and Australia, Japan and the Philippines in Asia-Pacific. The free-to-play games, which will launch…

The NBA is upping its game on daily fantasy sports, with a little help from FanDuel. The league unveiled a fantasy game based on NBA games called InPlay on Thursday. It appears to be the development of a product called FanDuel Turbo that never officially launched. The NBA has an equity stake in FanDuel. “We are always looking at ways to enhance the viewing experience, drive people to tune in to our broadcasts and increase the time spent watching live games,” said Melissa Rosenthal Brenner, NBA Senior Vice President, Digital Media, in a press release on the launch.  “NBA InPlay…

Sports betting will be broadly legalized in the US in approximately four years and one of its highest profile proponents, the National Basketball Association, will continue to call for a regulatory framework for wagering, American Gaming Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman said Wednesday. Those calls, however, will likely continue to stop short of direct legislative lobbying. NBA spokesman Michael Bass told Gambling Compliance that while his league maintained its position in favor of a law regulating sports betting, it was not going to become more aggressive in directly advocating for such a law. Freeman told those assembled that he…

US fantasy sports operator FanDuel has moved to enhance its presence in North America’s NBA basketball league by entering into a new multi-year partnership with the Charlotte Hornets. Under the deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, FanDuel will become the team’s first-ever partner in the fantasy sports category. Hornets fans will gain access to free-to-play online FanDuel games and possibly win a range of VIP experiences such as autographed merchandise and the chance to travel with the team to an away game. FanDuel will also have activations at all Hornets watch parties during the 2015-16 season and will…

US fantasy sports operator FanDuel has moved to further expand its presence in North America by entering into partnerships with almost half of the teams in the National Basketball Association. The operator has signed multi-year deals with a total of 13 teams, with a number of these serving as extensions to previous deals. The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz have all agreed new partnerships with FanDuel. Under the wide-ranging deals, FanDuel will gain access to various marketing assets…