The NFL’s rules on gambling have generated widespread criticism and questions leading up to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, as the league aims to balance its sports betting partnerships and policies that prevent players from betting on games.
Gambling was a major topic at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual Super Bowl press conference, when he said the “integrity of the league” was the top priority.
“We want to make sure that when people watch NFL games, they know that the action on the field is genuine and without any outside influence,” Goodell said.
With the flagship sporting event long gone in the US betting hub, it’s worth revisiting the NFL’s policies for its players and how the league’s stance has changed over time.
NFL Sports Betting Rules
The league has long maintained that players are not allowed to bet on NFL events. Its 2023 gambling policy states that players may never place, request or facilitate a bet, directly or through a third party, on “any NFL game, practice or other event, such as the Combine or the Draft.”
Players are also not permitted to participate in someone else’s NFL betting activity, such as asking someone to place an NFL-related bet on their behalf or allowing another person to use their account to place a NFL-related bet. NFL.
Players also cannot access a sportsbook during the NFL season (from the Hall of Fame Game to the Super Bowl) “except to access an area outside a sportsbook,” the rules state. For example, a player can go through a bookmaker “where necessary” to get to a separate part of an entertainment complex, casino or hotel.
At the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will both stay in Lake Las Vegas, about 25 miles east of the Strip.
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Because the Chiefs and 49ers are staying in Lake Las Vegas and not on the Strip
League rules also cover when and where players can bet.
Players are prohibited from gambling on team or league facilities (such as training facilities, stadiums, and offices) or while traveling with their teams (such as on a plane or at a team hotel) to attend a game of the NFL or a team in season activities.
Can NFL players bet on other sports?
Players may bet on sports other than the NFL in states where betting is legal, subject to the NFL’s rules on sports betting and workplace betting.
For example, a player cannot place a bet from an NFL facility even if the bet is not on an NFL game. Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere were disciplined this season for violating the rule. They initially received six-game suspensions, but the league updated its gambling policy in September, reducing the penalty from six games to four.
Betting on non-NFL events at work or while working now carries a two-game suspension for a first offense, six games for a second offense and at least a year for a third offense.
What are the gambling rules for the Super Bowl?
Members of the two Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and 49ers, are prohibited from participating in any form of gambling, including casino games and betting on any sports.
Players on the other 30 teams can engage in “legal gambling” – but not in the NFL, and they cannot participate in sports betting until the end of the Super Bowl, the league said.
Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said last week: “The rules are no different for players and other personnel on participating teams as they would be for any other game: when you are on business, there is no gambling, be it sports gambling or anything else.
“And any player, coach, staff, myself, who is caught or identified while playing in a casino would be entitled to disciplinary process, and this would be dealt with in the normal course of discipline as we would any player or other staff who “There were evidence that they were violating gambling rules.”
NFL disciplinary proceedings for gambling violations
Violations of the NFL’s gambling policy are decided by Goodell or his designee on a case-by-case basis under the 2023 rules.
“Discipline may include, without limitation, a fine, suspension, termination of employment and/or banishment from the NFL for life,” the rules state.
Below are the basic suspensions for gambling policy violations, “with possible adjustments upward or downward,” according to the rules, which note: “Nothing in this policy prevents the commissioner from imposing more discipline for others types of prohibited conduct”.
- NFL Betting: Indefinite suspension, minimum one year or minimum two years if a player bets on an NFL game involving his team
- Actual or attempted game fix: Permanent ban from the NFL
- Inside information and tips: Indefinite suspension, minimum one year
- Third party or proxy betting: Indefinite suspension, minimum one year
- Betting (other than NFL) at work or while working:
- First violation: two-game suspension without pay
- Second violation: six-game suspension without pay
- Third violation: Suspension without pay for at least one year
How has the NFL’s stance on gambling changed?
AtleticoMike Jones explained in a recent article how the NFL’s complicated relationship with sports betting has evolved:
Since the legalization of sports gambling, the NFL has worked hard to walk a tightrope when it comes to partnering with companies like Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings and also ensuring that players avoid activities that could compromise the integrity of the game . The league has yet to release data on revenue generated from partnerships with gambling companies, but according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), the NFL makes $2.3 billion annually through such deals.
League officials have long disapproved of betting on NFL games and feared that involvement would lead to player involvement and questions about the temptation to fix games. But once the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, they too felt the need to evolve.
“The relationship that the league has with sports gambling has changed for one specific reason, and that is because the world has changed,” Miller said of the league’s efforts to promote responsible sports betting practices. “The Supreme Court struck down (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) in 2018, five years and a few months ago. As a result, we had to rethink how we approach legalized sports gambling, and that’s what we did. … And we will continue to watch and examine how we do that in hopes that we can do our best to protect the integrity of the game in a world where the rules have changed.”
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(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
