With Players Suspended, NFL Revamps Gambling Policy

Sat, Jun 24, 2023

To its credit, the NFL has said enough is enough—for now. The league has revamped its gambling policy to make it easier to police, or at least that’s the hope. The centerpiece is a list of six don’ts.

With Players Suspended, NFL Revamps Gambling Policy

The NFL is getting serious about this gambling policy. Too many players and coaches are getting caught up in betting-related controversies, so the league has come up with six simple but key rules that employees need to follow.

On June 20, the NFL held a conference call to lay out the six rules:

  1. Don’t bet on the NFL;
  2. Don’t gamble at your team facility, while traveling for a road game, or staying at a team hotel;
  3. Don’t have someone bet for you;
  4. Don’t share team “inside information”;
  5. Don’t enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season; and
  6. Don’t play daily fantasy football.

Detroit Lions wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill III broke what is now rule 2 earlier this year, which already was a rule but not laid out in a series of six. Both received six-game suspensions, according to CBS Sports.

In the conference call, NFL Chief Compliance Officer Sabrina Perel said that if a player uses his own name on a gambling app, the league will know, per NFL Media. There’s also a new rule where rookies must go through mandatory training on the gambling policy.

Quintez Cephus, C.J. Moore—both with the Lions as well—and Shaka Toney of the Washington Commanders violated rule 1 and received indefinite suspensions. Isaiah Rodgers of the Indianapolis Colts is still under investigation.

Here’s where it gets interesting—the league gambling policy applies to current personnel. It does not include former or prospective employees of teams or the league office.

The league seems to think certain players not on rosters still fall within the scope of the six rules—also known as the gambling policy—as a result of the preamble to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)t. By the way, gambling policy is not mentioned in the CBA.

The gambling policy as it exists does not cover unemployed personnel like fired coaches.  That’s because they are not unionized. So fired coaches, GMs, trainers and so on, can bet on NFL games until re-employed.

Prominent NFL commentator Mike Florio, of ProFootballTalk, says that’s not enough, not without shunning any involvement with sportsbooks.