NFL and Gambling

[matt]

The NFL officially says it's against sports gambling, but since the league definitely benefits from all the wagering, does the NFL do things that encourages gambling? A friend mentioned the injury report. The NFL forces teams to submit injury reports during the week. Why?

Just wondering?

[MAXIMUM VALUE]

Matt

Its possible that it could be some value to their opponent.

If key players are out then this could somewhat change thier gameplan and implement new stratagies during practice.

Also I think Fantasy Football uses them but I am sure thats not the reason.

[Shawn]

While the argument can be made that it's done strictly as a convenience to viewers, moving the second stack of Sunday games from 4 Eastern to 4:20 certainly helps gamblers evaluate where they stand halfway through the day.

[Don Best]

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[Dot Mix]

They don't have to Don.

Anytime a number is hung up somewhere on any matchup thats all the encouragement thats needed.

Dot

[Lou_Covers_Com]

The fact is that anywhere you have a difference of opinion, you have an avenue for possible wagering.

Anytime two or more people have a discussion about who or what is better in sports, a bet can then be made.

That's what's fun about sports and sports betting. Every sports fan has an opinion about a game, and loves to argue about it. Placing a bet is a natural way of deciding who is right and thus deciding who is smarter. Between friends, when somebody has to pay up on a bet, it's really just a business-like way of getting somebody to say, "Uncle".

And all of this adds up to higher ratings for the NFL.

How many times do you see the networks hyping a game between the ****tiest team in the league versus the best? Even though it's going to be a horrible game to watch, the pre-game shows still manage to find a way to make the game sound almost interesting.

True sports fans will stop watching that blowout football game at halftime, but bettors will watch that game right to the end - because of the spread.

While the league does nothing to outwardly encourage betting, it does all it can to encourage differences of opinion, because that raises interest in games. Betting is just a natural and expected result of the public's interest in a sport.

If the league was really against gambling, it would stop releasing the weekly stats reports, and put a halt to all pre-game discussions about the games until kickoff - because those discussions are the things that lead to bets after all.

But eliminating all of that would be stupid, because it would kill the sport too.

It's a symbiotic relationship. The league exists because people are interested in it. The more people that are interested in it, the more that people will bet. If the league wants to expand, it has to increase interest, and that will always increase the number of bettors. If the league tries to stop people from betting, it would have to lessen the interest, and that will hurt the league. Oh what a wicked web we weave...

And it's like that for all sports.

Example, based on my own experiences only.

Ten years ago everybody I knew liked to bet on baseball. Then, the lockout.

After the lockout, it took a couple of years for the public to become interested in baseball again. Likewise, it seemed (to me anyway) that not many of my buddies bothered to bet on baseball very much during those years. I guess, they just didn't have the interest needed to keep at it.

But the last couple of years have seen a renewed interest in the baseball, and it seems to me that baseball is a popular betting sports again.

More interest = more discussion = more arguements = more betting.

It's only guys like us, who have more of a dispassionate view of sports, that the league wants to be rid of. But once again, we are the only guys who stick around to watch a game that's 30-14 in the fourth quarter - because its a 10-point line and a TD makes all the difference.

Bottom line: The leauge doesn't have to do anything to attract betting, all it has to do is create hype.

[bbuster]

Donbest-

Dont you think that having casino signs and banners in the NFL Stadiums encourages gambling?