New York, USA - The National Football League (NFL) has always been a staunch supporter of the federal ban on sports betting. Along with fellow major leagues of other sports like the NBA, MLB, NHL and the NCAA, American football’s most prominent organization fought to keep courts from putting an end to the ban, wanting to keep the integrity of their sport and keep it from being compromised by legal sports betting.
However, the ban was struck down by the US Supreme Court in May of 2018. Most of those leagues then had no choice but to accept sports betting, looking to get in on the action for themselves. Initially, they pushed for integrity fees, which would be a slice of every sports bet that would be claimed by the league in charge of the event. The idea behind this was that these funds would help the leagues establish integrity systems to make sure that no skeptical betting activity took place.
However, no state has yet to include the integrity fee when legalizing sports betting because the margins for sportsbooks are already very tight. This resulted in many of the leagues moving on toward the distribution of their exclusive content to sportsbooks. Live betting is very crucial in sports betting and sportsbooks want the most precise and up-to-date information as possible. Therefore, they are willing to purchase access to this live data off of the respective leagues.
The NBA and NHL are the sports leagues that are at the forefront of the sports betting space. The NFL has been taking a slower and more measured approach to it. In August 2018, the NFL allowed teams to accept casino sponsors. The Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens were the first teams to do so. Then in September, the league gave its approval for gambling advertising to be shown during the season.
The NFL then announced a deal in January making Caesars Entertainment the official casino sponsor for the league. According to the American Gaming Association, the NFL may earn as much as $2.3 billion each year in additional revenue as a result of legal sports betting.
The NFL does want to stop particular types of prop bets. These bets are more likely to lead to match-fixing. The league wants to have the power to prevent or restrict any market that is not related to the final score of the game.
Three NFL teams recently let their sentiments be heard during a hearing about sports betting in New York. Sports betting in the state is on its way and sports leagues want a proper regulatory framework to be in place.
The New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills, and the New York Giants were co-signers of a letter that is pushing the New York State Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee to consider the integrity of the sports leagues when setting up the framework for sports betting.
The letter read: “While we respect the Court’s ruling, the absence of clear and enforceable legal standards for sports betting threatens the integrity of our nation’s professional and amateur sporting contests. There is no greater priority for the NFL than protecting the integrity of our sport and the welfare of our players.”
The league wants four crucial standards to be considered. These are a regulated and legal environment for sports betting with proper consumer protections; intellectual property and content protection; fans’ access to official data; and enough resources to monitor and enforce all issues relating to illegal sports betting.
