NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
The NFL has a longstanding and fierce opposition to gambling, which is why many people doubted a team would ever play in Las Vegas. Now it appears that the Raiders will move to Las Vegas, but Commissioner Roger Goodell insists that the league’s stance on gambling hasn’t changed.
Asked by Colin Cowherd if the NFL is softening its opposition to gambling, as the NBA has under Commissioner Adam Silver, Goodell indicated that playing in America’s gambling capital doesn’t signal a shift for the NFL.
"We’ve seen the changes in the culture around the country in gambling,” Goodell said. "We’re obviously very sensitive to that, but we’re also going to evaluate the Raiders case on the relocation application in what’s in the overall best interests of the league. But one thing we can’t ever do is compromise on the game. That’s one of the things we’ll do is to make sure the policies we’ve created, if we did in any way approve the Raiders, I don’t see us compromising on any of the policies.”
"We’re
going to evaluate the Raiders’ case on the relocation application and what’s in
the overall best interest of the league,” Goodell said. "One thing we can’t
ever do is compromise on the game . . . I don’t see us compromising on any of
the policies.”
Raiders
owner Mark Davis has already filed paperwork to move to the Mojave Desert.
Funding is in place to build a $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium just
steps from the Vegas Strip. Goodell is expected to further clarify his comments
at next week’s "State of the League” address ahead of Super Bowl LI.
The NFL’s
Constitution and Bylaws consists of 292 pages, but says little regarding the
relocation process. It also doesn’t specifically prohibit a team from playing
games next to a casino, or ban franchises from calling Las Vegas home. The
mission statement of the league’s governance reads, "Ensuring a consistent and
fair game that is decided on the field, by the players.”
NFL
leadership has long opposed playing professional football in Las Vegas due to
the city’s widespread sports betting activity. The MLB, NBA, and NHL, the three
other components of the Big Four, have held similar positions.
However, as
casinos have spread across the United States, the three latter associations
have slowly amended their stances and have begun exploring how regulated sports
gambling would impact their organizations.
The NHL
gave Las Vegas its first major professional sports team when it approved an
expansion franchise last year. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said he wants
to legalize betting on basketball to regulate the currently dark market, and
MLB boss Rob Manfred recently opined that a fresh consideration is needed.
Goodell’s
comments seem to show that he retains the position that allowing Las Vegas to
be home to an NFL franchise would jeopardize the integrity of the game. The
commissioner has said in the past that playing games just steps from legalized
sportsbooks might influence outcomes due to some players being persuaded by
bookies or bettors.
That is slightly ironic to some, considering the NFL once operated a daily fantasy sports program targeting children. NFL Rush was open to US residents "between 6 and 12 who have parental consent,” and was dubbed an educational tool. However, the league closed the platform after the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood group highlighted the website’s hypocrisy.
Source: GMB / NBC / Casino.org
