*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).
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Wednesday marked two years since the basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash. In remembrance, a bronze statue has been temporarily placed at the site with all of the passenger's names included on the memorial.
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As controversy dogs the run-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China is hiring TikTokers and other social media influencers to promote the nation's history, culture, diplomatic efforts, and current trends.
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