A sport that has a commissioner’s office only because of a gambling scandal that rocked it 100 years ago might soon have sports-betting windows at a major-league ballpark in the very city that scandal took place, according to an ESPN report.
With the recent passage of Illinois’ new sports-betting law, the Cubs are among the Chicago teams considering to open a sportsbook at locations inside Wrigley Field and just outside the ballpark, reports ESPN, citing “multiple sources.”
The options being considered internally by more than one Chicago team, the report said, include automated kiosks, betting windows and in-stadium sportsbooks.
Cubs officials declined to comment to ESPN for its report and would not comment Saturday before the team’s game against the Dodgers.
Major League Baseball, which banned all-time hits leader Pete Rose for life over gambling on baseball, currently prohibits sportsbooks in its stadiums.
The commissioner’s office was created in the aftermath of the “Black Sox” scandal that resulted in eight White Sox players being banned for life for throwing the 1919 World Series.
ESPN quotes a statement from an MLB spokesperson saying the league expects to work with teams as they navigate the “rapidly evolving sports betting landscape in a socially responsible manner.”
