NFL Supports Lottery Gambling Revenue as Long as It Profits
NFL leaders rationalized breaking the league's supposedly firm policy against the encroachment of gambling by pretending to be concerned about government revenue. League owners voted this week to permit teams to form partnerships in gambling by licensing brands to state lotteries.
"We do think it is responsive to the pressures that states are feeling right now to help meet some of those budget shortfalls. It has been effective in other sports, and it is something that is a reasonable policy," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Meanwhile, Goodell spearheads NFL efforts to block a repeal of the UIGEA by Barney Frank, a move which would not involve NFL games but generate billions in revenue.
The owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, commented on his team inking the first contract, with the Massachusetts State Lottery. "We are looking forward to helping the lottery generate much needed revenue for the cities and towns of Massachusetts."
But many observers are finding the policy to be all about the money for the NFL. Christopher Cakebread, a sports marketing expert who teaches at Boston University, told the Boston Globe that NFL teams have lost sponsorships due to the recession.
"It's another way for them to promote the teams and to get a cut for licensing the logos," Cakebread said.
"The NFL has tried to spin its gambling policy so many times, it's hard to believe it has any credibility left," says Online Casino Advisory gambling analyst Sherman Bradley.
"The league has opposed many legal changes which would raise new gambling revenues. Most of these did not involve sports betting, and none increased any danger to supposed NFL integrity. But these lottery deals throw the league a few bucks."
