The legalization of gambling is not expected to rock the foundation of the NFL while the scene looks drastically different in the case of other professional leagues, NFL seems to experience quite a stable position.
According to observers of sports, the advancement in the industry of sports is highly dependent upon the economics of the same which can be said to be influenced by the legalization of sports betting across the nation and access to sports sites on NonGamStopBets.com that aren’t on gambling self-exclusion. This step can be regarded as a huge advancement in the sports economy considering the fact that the Supreme Court banished the law that restricts sports betting.
The step is expected to bring some revolutionary changes in the industry which is sure to mould the way NFL was being viewed previously. Although the changes will not be immediately noticed as they will look somewhat similar to the previous seasons irrespective of the changes.
Opinions Regarding Legalization of Sports Betting Affecting NFL
People who were expecting immediate changes will be left unsatisfied and disappointed greatly since according to Christopher Halpin, the chief of NFL in charge of strategy, they are unwilling to incorporate sports betting into NFL championship considering the existing popularity which contributes to a large amount of engagement already and the requirement for ushering betting into it is not significant. Fred Gaudelli, an eminent name in the football telecast of NBC, being the producer, comments that it has been a big taboo for announcers to publicly speak about gambling.
According to the spokesman of Fox, if it comes organically to the announcer and is relevant to the topic making perfect sense to the context it is only then acceptable to talk about gambling but according to an executive of ESPN, there are no plans to strategically speak about or discuss gambling. According to Al Michaels, an NBC sportscaster, there is no point in spreading the word through television because bettors are already aware of the same fact.
It has been discussed upon the fact that ads are not getting telecasted with the message of sports betting because the authorities are not in favour of people getting repeatedly reminded about betting since it is not a healthy practice and is addictive in nature. Although it has been allowed, it is not prescribed considering the harms.
Limitations
New York is the home to more than three NFL teams, allowing only the bets that are placed in person and specifically at four upstate casinos. The limitations are imposed in a way that New Yorkers can easily take a drive to New Jersey and visit the FanDuel Sportsbook at Meadowlands.
The governing body NFL is unwilling to preach to the audience about sports betting through advertisements and hence, to keep the large portion of followers from being annoyed and misled. Hence, it can be concluded that in contrast with other sports, the profit due to the legalization is definitely lesser.
Sports Data Transaction and Profit
Compared with the other American sports leagues, deals related to betting on the NFL are fewer in the count. The partnership for NFL with Sportradar which is a sports data brand is one of the most productive decisions made by the League in favour of it and the partnership is considered as one of the most important ones in the history of Sportradar. This partnership will make sure Sportradar gets access to the details of the NFL and owns the exclusive right to make transactions with casinos and sportsbook operators globally trading the data of the NFL.
They are also allowed to deal with the public NFL data gathered from the devices installed all across the stadium. Sportradar would provide information that is important for sports betting estimates. Reports from Nielsen and American Gaming Association states that the annual collection of NFL from legal sports betting is as high as 2.3 billion dollars. Sports leagues cumulatively could earn 4.2 billion dollars from the same.
A quarter of that entire amount would derive from betting operators directly while the rest would come as indirect revenue accumulated from amplified fan interest. The League is planning to test the water in sports betting through investing in digital media and markets internationally without sabotaging the popularity of domestic telecasts that is expected to fetch almost $7 billion as revenue for the current season of NFL.
Conclusion
The authorities are hesitant about introducing the legalised sportsbook options in the market fearing it would affect the reputation of the NFL as it might appear to the audience that they are acting in haste. The image of the sportsbook market in the advertisement setting is something that is quite questionable.
The NFL is definitely not the choice for regular bettors which can be said by the statistics of betting on football that secures only 34% of the entire sportsbook revenues while basketball stays at 33%. Also considering the fact that the NFL is not as popular outside of the United States, the prospects of it emerging as a popular gambling option is somewhat low. The NFL is expected to occupy its placement in the world of sports betting slowly but surely as time progresses.