The Raptors, NBA and provincial government are on the verge of allowing professional basketball to be part of the daily Pro Line offerings, a senior Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment official said Tuesday.
“It’s not done yet but it will probably be done for next year, maybe this year’s playoffs,” Tom Anselmi, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of MLSE said.
The NBA originally ordered the province to drop NBA games from its daily offering as terms of the expansion agreement for the Raptors.
“We have been in discussions with the Raptors and the OLG (provincial officials) about the inclusion of our games on the Pro Line ticket but don’t have anything to announce at this time,” an NBA spokesman said.
Anselmi said the team has been in negotiations with the league for the last year to have the restriction lifted.
“It happens in other provinces,” he said. “In B.C., the Grizzlies left and the NBA went back on (that provincial gambling ticket.)”
The NBA has loosened its vehement anti-gambling stance in the last few year, holding its annual all-star game in Las Vegas and toying with the idea of putting a team in that gambling mecca.
Anselmi said details are still being fully worked out but that the league, province and Maple Leaf Sports are trying to ensure a percentage of the daily wagers goes to basketball development in Ontario.
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