Instead of repeating the poor logic propagated by MLB and the NBA in the sports betting legalization conversation, the NFL should just sit back and enjoy the benefits.
On the subject of the legalization of sports betting, the NFL has mostly been silent as far as voicing opinions in the media. That changed recently with a Wall Street Journal interview given by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
When asked about the possible pending legalization of wagering on the outcomes of its games, Goodell declined to comment specifically on what the league would do in that scenario but stated that the league has to be prepared for any alternative. It’s what article author Andrew Beaton got from an anonymous NFL owner that is of most interest.
"One owner, speaking anonymously, suggested the league will have to seek some sort of deal: “Why would we let other people have all the benefit of something we’re creating?”"
This statement strongly echoes the poor argument that MLB and the NBA have been making in various state legislatures as those legislatures consider bills to legalize sports betting within their borders should the federal law which currently makes sports betting illegal in 46 of 50 states be removed. That argument is as the operators of the contests wagered upon, the leagues deserve a cut of sports betting revenue. MLB and the NBA want states to include in their laws that sports books have to pay the leagues a cut of their revenues.
What this comment from this team owner completely ignores is that the NFL, including the franchise he owns, stands to benefit enormously from legalized sports betting even without compulsory payments from sports books. The increased interest that legal sports betting in NFL games could generate could turn around the league’s declining TV ratings. That would mean TV rights packages fees would continue to remain lucrative, which is the largest slice of the NFL revenue pie.
The problem with taking revenue from sports books is that doing so would reduce the motivation to operate the book legally. Legal sports books will already have to pay bettors’ winnings, licensing fees and taxes out of their revenue. Shelling out more money to the leagues would make operating a sports book legally next to unprofitable and produce more reason to continue to operate the books illegally.
If most sports books continue to operate outside of the law even when a legal channel is available because of the cost, the NFL would actually have made a trade-off of getting a check from the few legal sports books in exchange for sacrificing the potential increased interest that would result from millions more people taking advantage of legal wagering. Legalizing sports betting without forcing sports books to pay the leagues what amounts to a royalty to the leagues is not just good for the bettors and the books, it’s the best thing for the leagues as well.
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Instead of spending resources manipulating the legislative process, leagues like the NFL should take a “laissez-faire” approach and then enjoy the enormous benefits to their businesses once sports betting is legalized in places where the law currently doesn’t allow for it.