MLS welcomes legalised sports betting

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has expressed his organisation’s readiness to accept legalised sports gambling.

“I’ve been to a lot of games in England,” he said during an event. “I’ve never really objected to the fact that somebody would come into the owner’s box and take a bet on a game.”

“If people are going to do it, you might as well manage it, organise it. You might as well generate tax revenue for it and find ways that the league could use it as a marketing tool to have people engage more with our players and our clubs.”

The commissioner added that legalised gambling will bring the fans closer to MLS and help attract a wider audience.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing for Major League Soccer as it relates to the potential of legalised sports betting is not necessarily revenue-driven,” he said. “It’s how do we engage more and more fans to participate, to get closer to our teams, to participate more deeply in our games.”