Do not panic by MLB-MGM agreement

He saw himself coming. The MLB became Tuesday the most recent professional sports league in the United States, in partnership with a gaming operator.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has announced an agreement with MGM Resorts International, whose economic terms have not been disclosed.

With this pact, the MLB Major League Baseball simply follows the footsteps of the NBA and the NHL to get their share of the cake and no one misses so soon, the NFL and the MLS do the same.

Under the terms of the agreement, MGM sports betting establishments will begin to use official baseball figures and will have exclusive access to improved statistics.

In addition, MLB's intellectual property, such as league logos and teams, will appear in MGM's commercials and bookmakers.

MGM will also be present in the All-Star Game and the World Series.

But do not panic. This does not mean that baseball runs the risk of being stained by betting, as was the case in the 1919 World Series.

Since the world is the world, betting in baseball has existed and this step will only legitimize a practice that is not always legal to prevent the money it generates from going in another direction.

In May, the Supreme Court overturned the Protecting Sports and Amateur Sports Act, 1992, a federal law that limited the state-sponsored restricted sports betting in Nevada.

Since the decision, regulated gambling establishments have been opened in Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

Of course, a stricter monitoring and control mechanism is imposed that prevents those involved in the decisions and the results of the games from participating in the bets.

But this concerns the fans. It will be the spectators and not the actors and this agreement should in no way affect the integrity of the game.

This is another way for MLB, an industry generating ten billion dollars, to receive even more money, which will result in its growth.

Oh, by the way, this deal will not at all erase the image of Pete Rose, a forbidden baseball betting on Cincinnati Reds games while he was performing them in the '80s.