Report: Backstage Reaction To WWE's Betting Plans Revealed

WWE are looking to expand their influence when it comes to gambling in the United States and it emerged this week that the company are in talks with state regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalise betting on WWE matches. The organisation have also already registered with the Indiana Gaming Commission. Colorado has since nixed legalising betting on WWE match results.

WWE have hired Ernest & Young to secure results and convince regulators there is no chance of match results leaking to the public. 

Should WWE continue to press ahead with their plans, it would cause major changes to the creative process within the organisation as match results would need to be locked in months ahead of the match taking place and wrestlers wouldn't be able to know if they were winning or losing until hours before a match takes place. 

Dave Meltzer also noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the changes could be detrimental to long-term storytelling as talents like Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, who work with Chief Content Officer Triple H on creative, wouldn't be able to know their long-term plans. Also, as Ernest & Young would need to receive match results well ahead of time to prevent results from being manipulated by betting patterns, WWE would be unable to change the finishes of matches at the last minute. 

Those who would be affected by the change within WWE called it "mind-blowing" that such a scenario was being talked about seriously, Meltzer reported. WWE believes the positives outweigh the negatives, though, as the company thinks betting will lead to more interest and coverage of major WWE matches.