Politician Asks for Transparency From the NFL on Its Gambling Policy

Betting on sports is a lot of fun and having placed a bet can add a ton of excitement to the most boring sporting event. That’s the magic of sports betting, plus the fact that you can make a lot of money doing it of course.

Today, there is an incredible amount of options in all kinds of sports from all over the world. The fact that you can place bets on US Politics, TV-shows and other entertainment tells us that you don’t have to be a sports fanatic to understand the beauty of betting.

However, no matter how much fun and profitable it can be, not everyone is allowed to bet. What do I mean by that? Well, game fixing is a massive problem, in some markets more than others, and this is the reason why sports betting is banned for players and other staff.

You can find a lot more information on crypto sports betting here. 

Isaiah Rodgers Sr of the Indianapolis Colts

Fair Play Comes Into Question

During this last season, several NFL players were investigated for having placed bets. This is a huge no-no and whether they broke the rules knowingly or not doesn’t matter. It comes down to fairness and if players are betting on the game, fair play comes into question.

This is not attracting the attention of not only the media but also politicians. One of the latest NFL investigations deals with Isaiah Rodgers Sr of the Indianapolis Colts. Nevada Rep. Dina Titus recently wrote a letter to FL Commissioner Roger Goodell seeking clarity on how the league is addressing the growing US sports betting market.

Undermine the Integrity of the Games

“While sports betting offers a fun way for fans to enjoy their favorite teams, it also brings risk that could undermine the integrity of the games that so many love. This risk is not new. Prior to 2018, sports betting by league-affiliated individuals in the illegal, offshore marketplace was much harder to detect, but that does not mean it was not happening. With sports betting increasingly becoming legal across the United States, sportsbooks and innovative integrity monitoring companies can alert gaming regulators and leagues when suspicious betting activity occurs,” Titus wrote.

Congresswoman Dina Titus

Questioning League Policy

Titus asked the leagues to respond by July 15 with the answer to several questions regarding each league’s policy on sports betting. How are players and staff educated on that policy? How is the policy monitored, and data around the number of violations and investigations related to the policy?

“While I appreciate all the work you are doing with sports books, state regulators, and integrity partners, more needs to be done to ensure that sports remain free from outside influence. This includes educating the public about what you are doing to protect the integrity of the game and maintaining full transparency surrounding your policies and procedures,” she observed.

NFL Addresses the Gambling Policy 

If it was due to the received letter or not isn’t clear, but the NFL did hold a press call regarding the league’s gambling policy clarifying the rules it entailed. They did not however comment on the scope of other investigations that are currently active within the league regarding potential policy violations.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

What Does the NFL Gambling Policy Say?

This is an interesting question and I’m not sure a lot of fans, or players for that matter, know what the rules are. Detroit Lions receiver, Jameson Williams, was given a 6-games suspension earlier this year and he admitted not being aware of the rules surrounding sports betting.

Confusion Among the Players

Williams isn’t the only player who appears to be confused about the league’s gambling policy. The Athletic recently interviewed five anonymous NFL players and none of them seemed to have a full understanding of the league’s gambling policy.

One player was unaware that you couldn’t place bets from a team facility while another player thought the policy meant that you “couldn’t bet on anything during the NFL season.”

3 Main Rules to Follow

Just to give you a quick look at the 3 main rules the players need to follow, here they are: 

1. No Betting on the NFL. “All NFL Personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or through a third party, on any NFL game, practice or other event (e.g., Draft or Combine). This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant, ‘futures,’ or any other kind of ‘proposition bet’ in any way related to the NFL (regardless of whether such bet involves actual on-field play) (e.g., prop bets related to Gatorade color, pre- or post-game events, halftime show, off-field player conduct or outcomes, etc.)”

Meaning – This is quite self explanatory and the rule applies to both players and league personnel: No one is allowed to gamble on any NFL-related events. 

1. Betting on Other Sports. “All NFL Personnel other than players are further prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating bets on any other professional (e.g., NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA, USTA, MLS), college (e.g., NCAA basketball), international (e.g., World Baseball Classic, World Cup), or amateur (e.g., Olympic, AAU) sports competition, tournament or event.”

Meaning: Interesting enough, NFL players ARE allowed to bet on other sports, but other league personnel are NOT. 

1. No Gambling in the Workplace. This is the rule that Jameson Williams allegedly broke and the reason for his suspension. The rule states: “NFL Personnel shall not engage in any form of Gambling in any club or League facility or venue (e.g., practice facility, stadium, team hotel, Draft or other League or club event); on any League or club charter or other transport; while traveling on club or League business; or while making an endorsement or promotional appearance.”

Meaning: According to the rules, players are actually allowed to bet on other sports. However, they are not allowed to do so while they are at a team facility or venue. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Mission – Keep the Game Clean

The NFL’s gambling policy includes a couple of other rules for players that are very obvious: Don’t try to fix a game, always give your best effort and do not give out any inside information.

This is crucial to keep up the honesty of the game because if fans lose faith in the players and their effort, they will walk away. Whether it’s NFL, NBA or the NHL, we don’t want it to turn into WWE and its predetermined outcome and fake wrestling.

Wrestling can be highly entertaining but there’s a reason why there’s no betting allowed.

Sports Betting is Wide Open For You

I agree that players and other personnel should not be allowed to place bets because it feels a bit fishy. I can also understand that some find the NFL gambling policy confusing. On the other hand, these players make enough money already and should be able to stay away as long as they are playing.

For us “regular” people though, luckily sports betting is wide open. Football, Baseball, Hockey, Tennis, whatever you prefer there are so many great crypto sports books to choose from.

Have you tried Stake, JustBit, Bc.Game, Cloudbet, FortuneJack, Jackbit, Sportsbet.io etc?

FYI, just in case you have missed it. On Thursdays I try to post the hottest sports bets of the week.

Tune in!