FanPost

Does the NFL have a gambling problem?


Now that the draft is finally over, I wanted to take a breath and focus on something I've been thinking about lately. There was an article that hit Mike Florio’s, Pro Football Talk, website today.

NFLPA advises agents that sports books are snitching on players who use gambling apps

I found this an interesting read that made me think about a couple of things:

First, why would sportsbooks report this activity to the NFL, unless this was something the NFL asked for? Was snooping on players’/coaches’ gambling app activities something that was baked into the agreement the league made with sportsbooks?

Second, is this the tip of the iceberg for the NFL when it comes to player gambling and the potential for it affecting the outcome of games? In the history of the league through 2019, only 4 players had ever been suspended or banned for gambling (Alex Karras, Paul Horning, Art Schlichter and Josh Shaw.) And now, just in the past year, six players (five alone from the Lions this past week) have been suspended for violating the league’s gambling policies.

The NFL gambling policy is pretty clear in that it prohibits any league official, player or referee from betting on ANY sport, NFL or otherwise. While it’s believed that none of these latest players bet against their own team in games they were playing in, is it a stretch to think that that hasn’t already happened or could happen, especially since they were never allowed to bet on any NFL game in the first place? If they're already betting on NFL games, would it be a stretch to bet on their own? What about officials, who in theory, can have a much more direct impact on affecting the outcome of games than any NFL player could have? Have any of them been caught betting? And would the league even announce such a suspension or firing of a game official? talk about potentially scandalous news! The NFL won't even release the dirt they had from the Commander's investigations let alone something that would absolutely tarnish the Shield like that kind of gambling scandal.

I understand the money NFL owners wanted to get their hands on by partnering with sportsbooks, as well as, the league now allowing to having a franchise in Vegas. Afterall, many of the states around the country where NFL teams are already located have legalized gambling and sportsbooks, Indiana being a prime example. But perception wise, I worried that embracing the gambling world so openly and directly would lead down a path of questioning the integrity of the game (many fans already think the games are ‘fixed’ for the teams the league would like to see in the playoffs, etc..)

So, does the NFL have a gambling problem? I’d like to think no, at least not right now anyway. By aggressively going after and suspending so many players just in the past year, the NFL is definitely trying to send the message that gambling, especially ‘legal’ gambling via sportsbooks, is absolutely not going to be tolerated. It also seems the sportsbooks are in bed with the NFL in policing these betting via apps activities, which will hopefully be a warning to players to think twice about gambling on the NFL.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.