Don Best Sports is one of the high profile gaming organisations appearing at this month’s GiGse, which is being held at the Marriot Marquis Marina, San Diego, 26th – 28th April. The company’s president, Benjie Cherniak, provides insight on the status of sports betting in the United States and the main obstacles it has to overcome.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle to overcome with progress on sports betting?

The biggest obstacles remain State and Federal legislative barriers. We also see continued resistance both politically and from some of the professional leagues themselves.

While the leagues do not buy into the legislative approach of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), they and other vested entities are keen on looking to formulate a strategy that would afford them a piece of the revenue stream while offering integrity protections. We might then see doors opening sooner on a state by state, if not Federal basis. One may not anticipate such a move in the immediate future, mired as it is in (federal) restrictions currently and the fact that the new US government and Attorney General likely do not lean favourably towards a federal approach.