NFL is pushing to popularize and benefit from sports betting while still trying to guard against that potential pitfalls not only for its players, but also for its employees and fans.
The National Football League’s players, coaches, fans, and executives will gather for an event over the next week. This was virtually unthinkable 10 years ago: the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Las Vegas in the gambling capital of the United States.
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that bans sports betting outside Nevada. This is a prohibition once backed by Roger Goodell. Goodell is NFL’s commissioner. The NFL has embraced the gambling industry. This has forged partnerships reportedly worth nearly $1 billion over five years with sports betting companies. It also permitted a sports book to operate inside one of its stadiums. It even has a team now in Las Vegas, in which the league avoided for decades. The reason for this is because any affiliation was seen as a threat to the game’s integrity.
But the embedding of sports gambling turned quickly into the culture of the league. This has resulted in jarring contradictions. NFL is pushing to popularize and benefit from sports betting without taking their guards down against the potential pitfalls that it long condemned. While the league donates money to promote responsible gaming, its broadcasts are sprinkled with advertisements for sports betting companies. The National Football League is part of a growing apparatus that encourages fans to regularly places wagers on games and push league employees, most notably players, who might do the same.
The NFL and other sports leagues have moved into this area quickly, fully considering the revenue-related benefits to engagement in sports gambling. However, this does not necessarily mean that thinking about everything could go wrong. This is according to a law professor and director of sports ethics at Baruch College in New York named Marc Edelman.
