For those who want to bet on sports, the NFL has made it possible to do so with official betting partnerships. These deals have paved the way for betting content to be integrated into the NFL Network this fall.
Until now, sports betting has been illegal, with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) preventing betting from occurring in most states. The NFL has been careful to move cautiously in this arena. It has spoken to governing bodies, gaming operators, and sports entities.
To ensure that gambling isn’t a nefarious activity, the NFL has provided training and education to its players. It also licenses video and other official data to sportsbooks.
But with the emergence of official betting partnerships, the NFL is taking a more aggressive approach to its gambling content. In addition to creating a platform for sportsbooks to take bets, the league is putting onus on the operators to prevent insider betting.
The NFL has forged relationships with three of the industry’s leading companies. Caesars, FanDuel, and DraftKings have each signed multiyear agreements. As a result, all three are gaining exclusive access to the NFL’s betting content.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the PASPA, the NFL began to investigate the potential of legalized sports betting. While the PPA made it difficult to operate a sportsbook in a stadium, the league wanted to know the best way to address this issue.
When the NFL found that fans didn’t want in-stadium betting kiosks, the league took a different approach. Instead of establishing a physical location, the league partnered with sportsbooks to allow them to sell betting commercials in the game.