The NBA might very well be fully supportive of legalized sports gambling around the United States, but that doesn’t mean the NFL will fall in line.
The league has consistently opposed any expansion of legalized sports gambling, something that’s not going to change any time soon.
But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is now on record noting that the league itself is prepared for it to take hold.
“The Supreme Court is considering changes, potentially, in laws with respect to gambling across our country, and I think we’re going to be prepared as a league to address that no matter how the Supreme Court comes out and how things evolve,” Goodell told ESPN Tuesday (h/t Pro Football Talk). “We’re going to protect the integrity of the game, I assure you of that,” Goodell said.”
In no way does this mean that the league itself is okay with this.
“To me it’s very clear, which is about the integrity of the game. You don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact negatively on the integrity of our game,” Goodell continued. “You want to be certain that there are no outside influences on our game and that fans don’t even have any issues on that.”
Goodell is talking about the possibility of players illegally getting their hands on gambling. Why he thinks this is a possibility remains to be seen. The league approved the relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas, the gambling Mecca of the United States. That in and of itself should tell us a story of an NFL that’s not overly concerned about this aspect of gambling.
The United States Supreme Court will soon decide on whether limiting sports gambling to Nevada is unconstitutional. If so, the NFL will have to deal with the expansion of legalized gambling.