Elected officials, an Olympic athlete, prominent sports law attorneys and high-profile agents rounded out the speaker panels at Cardozo’s 7th Annual Sports Law Symposium on March 1, sponsored by the FAME Center and Cardozo’s Sports Law Society.
The first panel discussed the legality of sports betting. New York State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow have been strong proponents of mobile sports betting as a potential source of revenue for the state.
“It’s low-hanging fruit,” said Pretlow. “It’s something we can do.”
Many betting panelists supported the legalization as a way to keep residents from traveling to New Jersey to place bets.
“This is New York,” said Addabbo. “We’re gonna do it better. And bigger.”
Audience members expressed concern for the mental health implications and potential litigation from disabled gamers. Addabbo stressed that protecting the consumer is a center focus of the legislation.
Another local-themed panel at the event centered on “The Barclays, Basketball & Brooklyn” and included Cardozo alumni Kari Cohen ’09, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at the Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets and Matthew Eisler '07, partner at Hogan Lovells and Outside Counsel to the Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets.
Protecting excluded parties was also a theme in the next panel, as Olympic luge athlete and New York University sports law professor Cameron Myler stressed the need for fair salaries in the WNBA.
“You play your sport because you love it,” Myler said. “You want to know that you can train and compete and would not have to work otherwise.”
photo credit: Sari Goodfriend