Abbie Chadwick
The National Football League (NFL) has announced it introduced six straightforward gambling rules to prevent players from engaging in sports betting activities prohibited by the league. The move comes in response to the recent suspension of NFL players who reportedly violated the league’s gambling policy.
Under the new rules, all NFL newcomers are required to attend special education sessions and familiarize themselves with the league’s gambling policy. NFL officials, on the other hand, are tasked with visiting team facilities and explaining which gambling activities are prohibited.
The NFL prohibits athletes to bet on the league’s matches or have a person to bet on their behalf. Besides, NFL sportsmen are not allowed to gamble at their team facility or share inside information with others. The league explicitly bans athletes from entering a sportsbook during the NFL playing season and wagering on daily fantasy football.
On Tuesday, Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy, told journalists that online gambling had changed the world significantly, allowing people to bet on everything through their smartphones. Miller noted that more people wager on sports nowadays, and that is why the league must be vigilant about what information is shared with other people in order to keep the integrity of the game.
Miller rejected claims that online gambling brought ambiguity to the league’s gambling policy. He explained that the NFL’s gambling policy is based on several rules, which have been in place for years. Therefore, easy access to online gambling is not an excuse for breaking the rules.
The NFL to Partner with Sportsbooks and Monitoring Companies to Ensure Players Observe the New Rules
The NFL has joined forces with monitoring companies in an effort to ensure that athletes follow the new rules. Geolocation technology is also being used to trace bets back to whoever placed them. Sabrina Perel, NFL vice president and chief compliance officer, said that sportsbooks would notify the NFL if someone violates the league’s gambling policy.
The league hopes that the new measures and rules will effectively prevent players from violating the NFL’s gambling policy and reduce the number of suspended NFL players. Perel added that the league would continue looking for new tools to monitor NFL players and whether or not they comply with the league’s gambling rules.
The NFL maintains that there is nothing wrong in allowing team owners to enter into sponsorship deals with sportsbooks while prohibiting coaches and staff from placing bets and imposing strict gambling restrictions on players. Perel said that the final goal is to attract the attention of new fans, entertain existing ones, and ensure the integrity of all NFL games.
Lately, we have heard about many NFL players being suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy. In April alone, the NFL suspended five players, including Stanley Berryhill III, Jameson Williams, Quintez Cephus, C.J. Moore, and Shaka Toney, for breaching the league’s gambling policy. This month, the Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers made the headlines after the NFL reported that the athlete is the subject of an investigation into possible violations of the league’s gambling rules.