Gambling sponsors have made their way through the top four leagues in the US and even though lately there are several concerns raised by analysts regarding the ethical underpinning of such ‘partnerships’, the truth is that mega deals between leagues and betting brands have presented unique opportunities for both parties involved.
NFL is one of the biggest leagues in the world. Bettors across the globe, whether they are wagering on betting sites in Indonesia, Malaysia or in places far far away from the US, actually follow the NFL as it is a highly attractive and appealing betting market. The NFL, despite being one of the strongest leagues, is trying to make the most efficient use of gambling sponsorship deals, while at the same time preserving and preventing the sports’ integrity to the fullest possible.
To some people, the NFL’s policies on gambling seem to be a compromising move aiming at balancing the contradictory nature of sports being sponsored by gambling companies. Here the contradiction lies in the assumption that sports should be noble and pure and should promote unity, good competition, and inclusiveness instead of promoting anything that can prove harmful to people (gambling for example).
To others, the NFL is just trying to do some damage control, after admitting – not explicitly though – that the perks and opportunities of having gambling sponsors purring into the leagues’ finances big bucks, significantly outweigh any potential negative impact on the sport’s integrity.
In any case, the NFL is trying to make things work even by having too many irons in the fire. On the one hand, the league wants to earn a lot of money from sponsorship deals with betting companies -the likes of which offer online gambling in Indonesia or Malyasia and can be found at Bettingmalaysia.online– which are willing to spend huge amounts on putting their brands right next to the most popular league in the US. That’s only natural, given that the viewership in major NFL games hits record highs and this means that millions and millions of people get to be exposed to the brand, which after all is the main purpose of any communication campaign.
On the other hand, the league wants to make sure that its gambling sponsorship doesn’t tackle fans’ trust in the sport’s honesty and integrity. And the way to do so is by compiling a very strict policy on gambling for its constituents.
NFL’s current policy has gotten even more strict than it began. All NFL employees and players are not allowed to bet on NFL games or NFL-related events. More on this, they are not allowed to bet on any sport while they are in their team’s facilities, in venues or even on the road to a game. Sports gambling is prohibited within the premises of any NFL-related event. And on top of this, NFL employees are not allowed to bet even in non-NFL sports anywhere – no matter if they are in their team’s facilities or everywhere else. This however, does not apply to NFL players -who can bet on other sports if they are in a state where gambling is legal and if there are no prohibitive criteria (such as being on the venue or on the road, etc).
For many people, the NFL’s strict policy is kind of ironic, especially when the league is pocketing millions of dollars from gambling sponsors. How can they even dare to issue such a policy, when they are getting so much money from big bookmakers and sports betting sites? How can they prohibit sports betting and threaten players and employees with penalties -which can sometimes be suspensions from games- when they all-so-proudly advertise betting companies? These are major questions that some people have when it comes to evaluating the NFL’s gambling policy.
But a more objective view of the situation, reveals that this is the only way for the NFL to communicate its sports integrity, maintain fans’ trust, and sustain its consistency when it needs to rationalize the decision to embrace betting brands’ sponsorship.
The NFL, just as every other major league that has sponsorship deals with gambling operators, needs to make sure that it will come out one piece from these partnerships and that it won’t lose fans and audiences no more than it will jeopardize people’s trust in the sport’s integrity.
The money that is earned from big deals with such brands is huge and the opportunities to have a solid financial position are unique. At the same time the opportunities for reaching mass audiences, for the gambling brands are also unique, when they are sponsoring NFL games.
But the audiences themselves are the one stakeholder group, which in the end doesn’t appear to have any particular benefits or gains and it is the only constituent that is not particularly considered by either of the two other parties.
