Joe Torre, chief baseball officer of Major League Baseball, offered a very cautious evaluation of the sport’s rapidly growing relationship with the legalized gambling industry. “I don’t think there’s any secret—it’s a concern,” he told Asia Gaming Brief at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“We just want to be sure that we do what we can to protect our game in regard to what you are betting on. We had meetings with every ball club in the spring to talk about it. In fact, I’m very sensitive because I’m responsible for umpires, responsible for minor league baseball. So there are a lot of dangers out there that we are aware of and that we are going to monitor to make sure that there is never a question about the game,” he explained.
“Our relationship now with MGM is just basically one of our sponsors, like the same would be with Coca-Cola or anything like that. That’s where our relationship is with MGM,” he added.
The 2019 MGM MLB Opening Series has been held this week between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners at Tokyo Dome.
Asia Gaming Brief is a news and intelligence service providing up to date market information for worldwide executives on relevant gaming issues in Asia.
ASIA GAMING BRIEF
PO Box 1139, Macau SAR
Tel: +853 2871 7267
Fax: +853 2871 7264