*By Max Godnick*
The Supreme Court's decision to let states decide whether to legalize sports betting has professional leagues on notice, but there doesn't seem to be much consensus on how teams and leagues will approach gambling.
"Each league has a different opinion on it and a different approach as to how they're going to address this," said Kelly Cheeseman, the chief operating officer of the L.A. Kings of the National Hockey League.
The Court ruled 6-3 this week to overturn a 1992 federal prohibition on sports gambling. That law was supported by the NCAA, NFL, and NBA, but now some leagues are changing their tune on the matter.
"Maybe it creates opportunity here," said Cheeseman in an interview Wednesday with Cheddar, adding he wouldn't get ahead of the NHL on the matter. "We're going to follow what the league wants to do here and then be able to bounce off of that," he said.
The NHL responded to the Supreme Court's decision in a statement that acknowledged an "entirely different landscape," but it also said there would be "no immediate impact on existing League rules relating to sports wagering."
It's a very different tone than the one set by Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, who said in a statement that his league supports a federal framework for legalized gambling in the states that permit it.
"Each league has a different opinion on it and a different approach on how they're going to address this," said Cheeseman, who is also the COO of AEG Sports, a unit of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Kings.
"As an owner and a team, we're going to follow what the league ultimately does here," said Cheeseman. "But it's still really too early to be able to see what the total impact is here."
The Kings were knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Las Vegas Golden Knights last month. That's more relevant for him than the potential of sports gambling.
"It's really not a factor for us, we focus on winning games, and gambling is not something we think about," he said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/new-technology-makes-sports-venues-more-eco-friendly).
March Madness is finally here as everyone is looking for which team to bet on and which teams to fade. Sports betting expert Alex Glaze joins Cheddar Bets to tell you which Cinderella team you should bet on and which teams to avoid for the NCAA Tournament.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Sean Green, Co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, discusses which teams he's leaning towards and away from, who the breakout stars will be, and explains why UCLA, a No. 4 seed, will leave New Orleans with the title.
Sponsored by BetMGM
BetMGM host Olivia Harlan Dekker gives her plays for some of the NCAA Tournament's biggest storylines, and explains why she is selling on both Coach K and - yes - Sister Jean.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Erika Nardini, CEO of Barstool Sports, joined Cheddar News senior reporter, Michelle Castillo at South by Southwest to talk about Barstool Sportsbook and the NCAA March Madness tournaments. "What we really believe is that there's going to be the next generation of sports bettor, [who] will follow sports the way Barstool Sports follow sports," she said. "They'll like winners. They'll like losers. They'll like the storylines. They'll like the drama with the fans.”
Amy Purdy, the three-time Paralympic medalist and first double-leg amputee competitive snowboarder, made her debut as a commentator at this year's games, and she joined Cheddar News to recap the event. "I like to challenge myself because I was challenging myself as a Paralympic athlete myself," she said. "But then to be able to be a commentator and be able to, you know, support the game, support the athletes in a completely different way, it was a lot of fun."
College basketball forward for the HBCU Texas Southern University, Mimi O'Neal, daughter of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, is pushing for more changes in light of gender equity scandals in NCAA college hoops brought to light on social media last year.
It's been an eventful past few weeks for the WNBA. One of the league's top players, Brittney Griner, remains in Russian custody after being detained at an airport last month. The league is also dealing with a scandal after fining a team for providing charter flights to their players. Emily Caron, sports business reporter for Sportico, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tyler Fulghum, ESPN betting analyst, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best value picks of the remaining teams in the biggest conference tournaments.
Sponsored by BetMGM
