If that dichotomy, combined with the league’s money-making partnerships with three sportsbook operators, sounds contradictory (or like “hypocrisy at best, a systemic barrier at worst,” as NFL agent Blake Baratz wrote on Twitter), don’t bet on changes coming soon to the NFL’s strictest-of-its-kind gambling policy. Even if one or two slight modifications might create fewer headaches.
Simply, NBA players and coaches cannot bet on NBA games and league events, including the draft.
In the NFL, distinctions are made. Coaches and other team or league employees are banned from all sports gambling. Players cannot wager on NFL games, league events or daily fantasy football, but can risk money on other sports — with one significant caveat: A non-NFL bet placed permissibly from home is a violation if made on the team’s watch.
“The foremost principle is protecting the integrity of the game,” NFL vice president of communications Alex Riethmiller said. “As a result, we have many workplace polices governing many behaviors — gambling at the team facility, for example — that are prohibited while permissible on personal time.”
The rash of 10 suspensions between April and July caught players by surprise — even after Pro Bowl receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended all last season and Jets assistant coach Miles Austin was suspended for a year in December. Only 26 of 53 players surveyed across teams by ESPN believe players understand the policy.
“The scariest thing now is the access on your phone, not the [casinos] near us,” one coach said. “But Vegas will become a big concern because it is just different. It’s more of a scene to go out and be”.
A Las Vegas-hosted Super Bowl is the culmination of what Steinberg described as the “most meteoric attitude change” on any once-taboo topic by professional sports. The Commanders will have a sportsbook open in their stadium on game days under a first-year NFL rule.
