Casino Advertising, Gambling, and the NFL

The NFL has always been quite vocal about betting on its games, trying to persuade people not to do bet on the outcome of the games. However, the league recently made the decision to allow different teams on the league to accept casino advertisements as a way of generating even more revenue. It has raised some eyebrows amongst some who are saying that the decision is basically hypocritical.

A sports attorney, Scott Andersen, agrees that the deal the NFL made is a bit hypocritical but he does not take offense to it and is not bothered by it. He believes it is a great way to increase the payroll or the players and does not really see the harm in it. A sports economist at the University of Michigan, Rodney Fort, says that this type of advertising is a way of filling out the hotel space that is simply attached to casinos. Fort believes that the decision is not hypocritical at all. Either way, neither Fort nor Andersen are bothered by the NFL’s decision.

Just a week ago, the NFL made a first time decision, unlike any decision it ever made before. The decision made was to approve local advertising of casinos during broadcasts of the sports game. The agreement will last for the next two football seasons. The advertisements will be limited and will only be allowed on certain parts of the venue, as well as local radio. The advertisements will also include an important message about being responsible while gambling.

This type of decision could benefit several different teams, especially teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, which is a team that just so happens to be located within driving distance of nearly two dozen different casinos. This would be a major increase in revenue for the Eagles, as well as other NFL teams, such as the New York Jets and New York Giants.

A spokesman for the NFL, Brian McCarthy, said that the entire league is not accepting the advertising; it will just be the teams that will be accepting the advertising. He also pointed out that the clubs received restrictions on the way that they would market. He says that team logos are not used and that many other sports have been doing this same thing for several years. McCarthy made sure to point out that the NFL is still opposed to sports betting on NFL games and that they believe there is a huge difference between accepting gambling advertising in a limited manner.

Andersen points out that football has always been associated with some sort of gambling, even if the NFL does not want people to bet on its games, there will still be people who do bet on these games and have sports books and everything.