A Nevada legislator wants more details from the NFL on its handling of gambling violations. The NFL wants Congress to do more to crack down on illegal gambling.
These two positions are not mutually exclusive and seem to achieve the same goal, but for some reason, have become a cat-and-mouse game between two powerful bodies.
The NFL has suspended a growing number of players for violating the league’s gambling policies. That didn’t stop Nevada Rep. Dina Titus from asking for more transparency in its policy in a June letter. Titus requested details on how the league handles gambling with players and staff, according to SBCAmericas.
Several weeks later, the NFL asked what is being done about illegal offshore sportsbooks. In a letter of its own, obtained by Sports Business Journal, dated August 4, the NFL seemed to offer Titus what she wanted and put in a good word for what the league seeks:
“The NFL has a robust integrity and compliance program, designed to prevent and mitigate risk to game integrity. The program includes a comprehensive and straightforward gambling policy coupled with extensive education efforts including significant in-person training. As part of our annual, mandatory training program, this past season, we trained more than 17,000 players, coaches, gameday workers, club and league employees, and other personnel who are connected with the game.”
The letter, written by NFL Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs Jonathan Nabavi, also suggested Congress should do more to protect game integrity.
“Congress and the federal government have a unique role to play in bringing enforcement actions against illegal operators,” the letter said. “We believe that additional attention and resources are needed from lawmakers and law-enforcement to address the illicit sports betting market, which still has the power of incumbency.”
Titus called the NFL response disappointing. She had asked about efforts to ensure the integrity of games in the wake of violations committed by players.The NFL responded in detail but without focusing on specific questions posed by Titus.
“The NFL has declined to answer our questions and instead pivoted to illegal sports betting generally in their response,” she said in a statement. “It makes one wonder what they are trying to hide.”
In the league’s response to Titus’ letter, obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nabavi said “there is no higher principle at the NFL than safeguarding the integrity of the game.”
He went over league rules regarding betting, including that players should not bet on NFL games and should not disclose “inside information” about the team not known to the public.
Over the past two years, 11 NFL players have been suspended for gambling violations.
The charges affected more than the NFL. Authorities filed criminal charges against seven current or former Iowa and Iowa State college athletes suspected of tampering with records to hide who was placing the bets. The investigation that culminated in charges revealed wagering on games involving their schools.
The Iowa Racing and Gambling Commission later found no compromises in the integrity of any game. The actions taken received kudos from Titus.
“When players get suspended and coaches get fired, that means the system is working,” Titus said in the letter. “The goal, however, should be to stop these bets before they are placed.”
In the August 4 correspondence, Titus said she hopes to get to the best practices, “who’s doing what and how we can all do it better.”
Titus seeks to ensure that bettors accept that the games are fair, or else “that’s gonna have a big impact on the economy nationwide but certainly in Nevada,” she said.
Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said that as a sportsbook operator, “We have always been on the same side as the leagues, NCAA and regulators.”
Matthew Holt, the co-founder and CEO of U.S. Integrity, an independent sports wagering monitor, praised cooperation between the leagues and the betting industry, a key to nailing the “most sophisticated bad actors.”
Since mid-July, US Integrity has begun student-athlete education seminars on NCAA sports betting policies at most SEC and Big 12 campuses.
Lest anyone think the exchange of correspondence makes Titus a supporter of offshore betting, she is not. She championed a crackdown and co-authored a letter last year to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that asked the Department of Justice to target offshore books.
In her letter, Titus asked the NCAA for the number of investigations into potential gambling violations that are active.
NCAA President Charlie Baker responded there were 175 sports wagering violations since 2018. “I agree with you that in addition to the opportunities it creates, sports betting brings risk that could undermine the integrity of competition,” Baker wrote to Titus.
In other NFL sports betting news, the league has altered the terms of payment for the extension of an exclusive rights deal with Genius Sports through 2027-28.
Rather than collect 4 million warrants in Genius for two or three years of the extension, the league will be paid in cash, said Genius CEO Mark Locke.
“We believe that this is in the interest of our shareholders as it is less dilutive than it would have been otherwise, and we have agreed [on] a predetermined cash amount, which will be included in our rights fees and leaves us confident in our ability to continue growing profitability through the life of the deal,” Locke said in prepared remarks.
No dollar amount was disclosed from a conference call, according to Sportico.
Using cash lets Genius account for the cost of the deal over multiple years and fold the cost with the firm’s normal data rights fees.
“We now know the exact amount of fees payable to … the NFL through 2028, and we feel confident in our ability to continue growing our profitability through that time frame and beyond,” Locke said.
