WWE wants to convince state regulators to legalize gambling on scripted matches.
I'm reporting that they've been working with EY,
commonly known as Ernst and Young in a similar fashion to how
the Academy Awards has allowed certain states to legalize gambling.
So again, this is an example of a situation where the results are known.
It's not scripted per se, but these are known results under lock and
key and that is the template that I'm told WWE wants to use.
>> So over the last few years, there has been a lot of political conversation and
laws about the regulation of sports gambling.
It's become this big thing.
Obviously, a lot of people are interested in it.
I've never heard it talked about applying to sports entertainment before.
Actually, trying to legalize and regulate betting on WWE matches, but
that's what they're doing.
They're talking with state gambling regulators in a number of different
states to do this for background.
The past couple of months, I started watching wrestling again.
I used to watch it way back in the attitude era of WWF as a transition
in WWE.
And look, to be fair, it's less immediately
ridiculous than it seems on its face.
My initial concern was less that you're betting on something that is scripted,
that isn't necessarily a deal breaker.
So long as you don't know which way it's gonna go, my fear was gonna be how could
you possibly stop people from knowing the results of this and gaming the system?
They say they're gonna get the people that hold and lock and key,
the Oscars results in that sort of thing, but
I don't think it's nearly as simple as their pitching it as.
And bear in mind, Vince McMahon once and future king of WWE,
he wants to be behind this.
He's also trying to sell it,
so it's possible that this is supposed to be a prospect that makes buying
the network more appealing if it could be a part of gambling in the future.
But Brett, what do you think?
>> I think this is the most delicious story I have seen in a long time.
Because most of it for me is just like yes, let them.
This is utter corruption in a box waiting to happen.
There is no way you can go back.
It's not like there was a vote like there is among the academy that you can then go
look into and people changed it.
Maybe the word gets out, but that's not what I'm concerned about.
I'm concerned about them just writing it for
the betting, cuz it's all scripted.
It's all scripted, I hate to break it to you.
Maybe there's some improvisation along the way, I talked to Jordan.
You'll compulsive gambler about this.
He's like sometimes you could bet about what happens first
in a match like the over, under on elbow drops.
Along the way now, they'll have a whole bunch of in game parlays
that are utterly gonna be in the control of the wrestlers themselves.
There's gonna be a lot of people making a lot of money off of this, but
I don't care.
>> It's just to me feels so ripe for corruption.
By the way, the idea that a person would want to bet and know a lot of people would
say the fact that it's scripted means that's ridiculous.
So I think you need to, I don't think that, that's enough.
NFL games are not scripted, but you don't know the result of it.
WWE matches are scripted, but you don't know the result of it.
>> No, no, no. >> What difference at that point, I think.
>> The difference is people are trying hard to win and
there's 30 of them, 22 of them on the field.
>> I'm saying the fact that effort is being,
they're putting in the effort to put on a good match.
I'm saying, I understand why a person would still want-
>> Entertainment based performance
are wildly different animals that are the spirit of them is so different.
Brett, I am not saying that there is not a different spirit.
I'm saying, I understand why a viewer might still get a thrill out of it.
The fact that it's scripted does not destroy that.
For me, it's more as a person who watches wrestling is very easy for
them to say, well, but don't worry, it's going to be locked down under lock and
key three months before and the wrestlers won't even know until a few days before.
Well, it's very easy to say that, but there are injuries that result in matches
having to be changed or a person might have to be written out of a storyline.
It's very easy to say you won't know until the last few days, but
they're doing work and prep for the matches.
You need to know earlier than that.
And by the way, if you're a savvy viewer of wrestling, it's not difficult to see
where things are going based on the matches that lead up to a pay-per-view.
This seems to me like a Hail Mary from Vince McMahon to appeal to
the Saudi government, so
they'll buy the WWE more than an actual thing that could work in practice.
>> It's just like also something like moonlight and LA.
So what was it called, the LA store?
>> La La land.
>> La La Land.
>> Yeah. >> At the end of that snafu,
they pulled out the thing.
And it said no, the winner was actually moonlight.
If someone wins against the plan of the WWE, would they're gonna come in and
show the script and be like, no, that person should have won?
They already went, boom, boom, boom, done.
>> They went boom, boom, boom and what do you do then?
>> Also, the number of people that have to know in the lead up to it only.
>> Yeah.
>> It's just so many people, so many potential host-
>> Match-
>> And the risk people are not gonna
okay it.
>> And so I'm just gonna throw it as a final thought.
I haven't seen much of this, but
just in case you never know when you talk about this.
A lot of people find the idea that you could be entertained by this,
because it's scripted to be ridiculous and
I understand when a 13-year old says that it's like a knee jerk thing.
But if you have the idea that scripted entertainment can't be entertaining,
that's what you're proposing.
I watched Endgame last night, it was good.
It was scripted, I've seen it many times.
Still entertaining,
you could be entertained by things that were predetermined.
Almost every Seinfeld episode was scripted,
most were not improv in the moment.
So anyway, that's what I think, but I don't think that this is a good plan.
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