(AP) – Sixty years after Paul Hornung and Alex Karras were suspended for a whole season for betting on football games, gambling is now as much a part of the NFL experience as mock drafts, tailgating, and Super Bowl halftime shows.
The Raiders currently play a dice roll from the Las Vegas Strip, and the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball recently announced a contractual agreement to buy land for a field near Sin City’s famous casinos.
The NFL has suspended four Detroit Lions players for sports betting. Were they being hypocritical or hypervigilant?
Gambling is no longer a taboo, but rather a huge moneymaker for the NFL, which has multiple lucrative sponsorships with online gambling companies and even a brick-and-mortar sportsbook in one of its stadiums.
So, is it hypocritical for the league that has so enthusiastically supported legalized gambling to penalize some of its players for betting on football games and other athletic events from their phones, as millions of NFL fans are regularly encouraged to do?
“I think it’s hypocritical,” said Jim Miller, a former Steelers and Bears quarterback. “You can’t lie in bed with the devil and not expect to be burned.
“You’ll soon be able to place bets in (most) NFL stadiums,” Miller added. “That said, the players are fully aware of the rules. They educate them with seminars and other activities held in the locker room.
The NFL punished five players last week for violating its gambling policy. Lions receiver Quintez Cephus, safety C.J. Moore, and Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were all suspended for at least the 2023 season after wagering on NFL games last season. Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams, Lions receivers, were penalized six games apiece for wagering on non-NFL games from an NFL facility.
“The NFL has always taken a tough stance toward athletes and gambling,” Miller stated. “When I was in Chicago, (former commissioner) Paul Tagliabue came to town and warned a teammate that the league was aware he was hanging out with a guy who ran a casino and that he could no longer do so.”
That was before the airways were saturated with advertising for fantasy football betting, actual final scores, and even live action odds.
The Washington Commanders have a sportsbook within FedEx Field, while the Jets, Giants, and Cardinals all have one immediately outside their stadiums. That figure may soon rise after NFL owners approved at their annual meeting last month to enable teams to operate sportsbooks inside stadiums in jurisdictions where gambling is legal.
Since a historic Supreme Court decision a few years ago, thirty-three states have legalized gambling, and 17 NFL teams will now be able to run online sportsbooks. The other 15 clubs aren’t concerned because revenue will be capped at a certain point, beyond which all 32 teams would share in the earnings.
“The whole scenario is a farce,” said former Bengals linebacker Larry Stevens. “The NFL and its teams profit from gambling, but players cannot.” “It’s also ridiculous how uneven the NFL is with suspensions. There have been players who have beaten up wives and girlfriends, giving the league a clear black eye, and were suspended as long as they were wagering on non-NFL games.”
According to league spokesman Brian McCarthy, players, unlike coaches and other NFL and team workers, are permitted to gamble on sports other than football, but not while at work.
The NFL prohibits all league and club personnel from wagering while on the job, including at practice facilities, stadiums, team hotels, draft or other league or club events, club charters or other modes of transportation, and even when making endorsement or promotional appearances.
Not even March Madness workplace pools are permitted.
All of this is to guarantee the game’s integrity, since if the public begins to question the fairness of the competition, the most popular league in America may collapse.
“It’s reasonable for the league to prevent players from wagering on NFL events, as well as college football,” said Chris Altruda, a senior analyst for Sports Handle, a media source that covers legal sports gambling in the United States. “For non-football events, I believe NFL players should be permitted to bet, but I understand the league’s concern about the optics of allowing players to wager on team grounds.”
So, how does the league know when players are gambling while they should be working?
“That’s a mystery,” Altruda added, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if the league uses technology to gather that information.”
McCarthy declined to provide information regarding how players are monitored for compliance with the league’s gambling regulations, saying only that “the NFL uses a variety of measures to monitor for infractions of the gambling policy.” These include internal procedures, as well as resources and services offered by our partners, to ensure that we have the most complete information available.
“The NFL has always maintained a rigorous integrity and compliance program based on policy, education, monitoring, and enforcement,” McCarthy stated. “We continuously examine and improve our programs to ensure these components are still well-suited to protecting the integrity of our game.”
McCarthy stated that the league educates and trains all players, coaches, and staff at the 32 clubs, as well as NFL league personnel and other stakeholders (e.g., vendors), regarding gambling policies. Each year, we educate almost 17,000 people on our gambling policy.
Former Washington and Detroit offensive tackle Jon Jansen places the responsibility on the players, who should know better than to risk being caught gambling.
“The integrity of the game is at the core of what the NFL promotes to networks, advertisers, and, ultimately, fans,” Jansen stated. “Players enjoy the fact that the salary cap is always increasing. Players will continue to profit from TV deals and other partnerships, such as those with casinos and bookmakers.
“If they don’t like the regulations that they collectively agreed to, they may negotiate to modify them in the next CBA,” Jansen said. “The average career spans little over three years. If you can’t make sacrifices and follow the rules for your career, it’s not really essential to you, and someone else should and will get a chance.”
