LV Raiders Stadium and NFL Sports Betting

The NFL continues to show just how erratic they are when it comes to the topic of legalized sports gambling. With the impending Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas, Nevada, the league has been asked a lot of questions as to what the future of their stance on the issue and they have continued to be tough to read. In fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has contradicted himself several times in regards to his views on the Las Vegas Raiders Stadium and NFL sports betting.

Brent Schrotenboer of the USA Today, shed some new light on this move after he released an article where he discusses the fact that this Raiders move already has gambling ties to it before the move even happens. Calling it “The House That Gambling Built” when referring to the new stadium, Schrotenboer explains that Caesars Palace and MGM Casino, both of which are Nevada sports betting businesses, are part of the board on the Las Vegas Stadiums Authority. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy touched on this fact saying that this doesn’t violate the NFL’s rules on gambling and they control just two of the nine board spots. Apparently, the authority will not be given rights to any football-related assets and will have no control over the stadium’s day-to-day activities. McCarthy says that the NFL doesn’t consider a Stadium Authority an actual owner in regards to the league's gambling policy. McCarthy told USA Today Sports “We would look very carefully at the rights associated with the lease…So long as the essential controls and the economics are controlled by the team, we would not expect to view it as a problem with respect to our policies.”

NFL’s Gambling Stance

Roger Goodell has continuously vocalized that he and the league are against the legalization of sports betting but some league practices don’t make that stance seem all that strong. Not only do plenty of NFL personnel involve themselves in the casino business, either by making paid appearances or even owning them but teams like the Miami Dolphins and the Detroit Lions have specific sponsorships from casinos. The Lions are partners with the MGM Grand Detroit and the Dolphins have even renamed their stadium to Hard Rock Stadium.

It’s going to be tough for the NFL to rationalize their continued involvement in the casino gambling business while still opposing the activity altogether. Changes will happen and they will happen soon, it’s just a matter of time. In fact, other leagues are starting to get in on the action too. The NHL recently announced a new franchise in Las Vegas in which they are named the Las Vegas Golden Knights and have already allowed for there to be deals with various gambling organizations.

Why There Will Be A Change

The bottom line is that the excuse that sports betting can “hurt the NFL’ is outdated and just plain wrong in today’s digital world. Gambling on sports at Nevada gambling sites happens every day at legal offshore online sportsbook by millions of people and the most popular sport to bet on is the NFL. So it not being allowed within the states isn’t doing too much good nowadays. The league needs to stop pretending that this is a bad move for the NFL and accept the changing times we live in. Allowing sports betting in the NFL could help a lot of things, including fan participation, ticket sales, and revenue in general. If there is one thing we know the NFL loves it’s its money, so like we said, it’s only a matter of time before sports gambling in the NFL is permissible.