Until the emergence of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan, the NBA struggled to find a market outside the US. Granted, this was due to a culmination of factors, and one of the most critical aspects, availability, was probably the biggest overarching factor causing a significant blockage to the global market.
An Underlying Intrigue In Gambling
Online gambling markets have soared in popularity over the last 20 years, and it’s a trend that is showing zero signs of slowing down. We’re talking about the broader gambling market here, too. The accessibility of sports has resulted in millions of people seeking out gambling markets, and companies within this sector have wasted no time in branching out their gaming titles, either.
The immense global popularity of slot gaming has spread across the entire online casino gaming landscape worldwide. Australians make up nearly a fifth of the entire market, for instance, and they’ve turned the game into a seminal part of their entertainment culture. Down Under, it’s better known as pokies.
While playing real pokies online involves many of the same gaming genres and styles found in the broader online slots market, it’s this interconnectivity across the industry that has helped forge significant, transnational ties.
Aussies have a penchant for betting, and it covers right across the ecosystem of gambling, including pokies, poker, and every other table game in between. There are even derivatives such as 3 card poker, which are beginning to find an audience in Australia.
For the NBA, which is the top flight of professional basketball, it uses ties within the gambling industry to help flourish in derivative markets. Although not all online pokies, or slots companies, delve into broader betting markets, it’s part of this overall ethos that has drawn in professional basketball fans from all over the world. The internet has enabled them to create a bridge, making it much easier for all these markets to interact and ultimately result in far greater access and visibility.
The Power Of Global Superstars
In any sport, the power of a megastar is usually the determining factor in attracting a global audience. Think of Mike Tyson in boxing, even decades after his retirement, his circus fight against Jake Paul attracted global attention. Michael Jordan in the NBA in the 1990s, and Tiger Woods in golf, all had the same universal pulling power. All of these names were able to transcend the traditional confines of the sport in which they played and helped to bring it to millions of new people.
It has also broken down the barriers, meaning that the NBA has evolved from a US-centric league to one with true global appeal. The rise of elite European talent, ranging from Luka Doncic to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Unlike other top US leagues, such as the NFL, which have remained focused on the US, the NBA calls upon talent from all over the world. By adopting this approach, numerous global superstars help attract an enormous audience from other continents.
Accessibility & Affordability
The intersection of the internet and professional sports has been seminal in bringing a range of professional sports to a global audience. For instance, the English Premier League in the 1980s initially drew a predominantly English-based audience.
It’s not that there wasn’t a market for overseas fans, but the cost of broadcasting was so high, fewer people had televisions, and the internet was in a very primitive format back then. Ultimately, there were too many barriers for it to become a viable market; however, the internet, along with the rise of cheap, fast internet such as broadband, almost solved all of these problems in a single stroke.
The NBA is one of the most affordable sports for people to watch overseas, with subscriptions providing access to every live game. In a world where the traditional avenues of cable TV and expensive subscriptions are well on their way to being replaced by streaming services, this is an avenue that the NBA grabbed with both hands.
Although the NFL has begun moving toward this model, the NBA was the first to truly explore it, which is why it’s by far the most popular US sport with an international audience.
Balancing Domestic Markets With Overseas
Despite the rise in an international audience, the NBA has been suffering in the US market, experiencing declining numbers over the last decade. Some attribute this to the global nature of the league, while others cite that the league has historically experienced fluctuations.
However, in any event, in a global market, where professional sports are now global businesses, the NBA is standing on much more solid ground than other sports that are wholly dependent on an American audience.
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Author: Team Dunkest
June 24, 2025 | 7:15 am
