The NFL has been forging links with online casinos and sportsbooks. It recently developed licensed slot games related to online sweepstakes casinos. In this article, we discuss the impact it may have and where the NFL goes next.
There have always been links between sports, betting, and casinos. In the modern age of iGaming, these links are as strong as ever. Yet where some sports organizations, such as the Premier League, are treading carefully in the wake of increased legislation, the NFL is going head first into the world of online sportsbooks and casinos. But will the National Football League bet pay off? In this article, we discuss the links between the NFL and the iGaming industry.
NFL Leverage in Gambling Industries
The NFL has long used its brand as leverage and is now setting out to get as much profit from the license as possible. Back in 2021, it signed deals with several major companies to become approved sportsbook operators. This included major companies like FoxBet and BetMGM, providing them with NFL in-game commercial units and access to NFL media.
All of this followed a 2018 move that overhauled the laws on gambling in the United States. It allowed legalized gambling nationwide and gave states the ability to decide if they would allow online sportsbooks and casinos. It also gave sports teams, leagues, and individuals the green light to collaborate.
This deal made a lot of sense for the NFL. Most states had just made decisions on if they would allow online sportsbooks, so getting as much exposure made sense. It also worked out for the gambling companies, who now knew the extent of their operations in the US. Only seven states had decided to allow online casinos, with little sign they would change their minds anytime soon. The NFL knew the boundaries, and it was a way for them to get the most money from the US market.
Major companies like BetMGM were also planning expansions into other markets as a result. In particular, this company was launching their casino and sportsbooks in the United Kingdom. To date this has been successful, and any review website worth its salt will feature them in at least the top five for-game offerings. With the NFL being a global brand, partnering with them for exposure made sense, especially at a time of international expansion.
The NFL Slot Licenses
Last year, the NFL went further and signed a deal with Aristocratic Gaming to produce several NFL-themed slot machines. This year they moved ahead due to the games' success and inked a deal in which online slots featuring the NFL will be available. This makes it the first US sports league that has licensed its properties to a slot title.
However, there is a caveat. These games are limited to social or sweepstake casinos. These are casinos that manage to get around state gambling laws by using sweepstakes laws. People don't wager on the slots directly using cash. Instead, they buy coins, which they can use to play the titles. When they win, they convert their prize tokens into cash or rewards.
The game will be created by a team known as Product Madness. They are a branch of Aristocratic Gaming that operates solely in the social casino sector. They are currently in the phase of market testing for the title.
Looking after Its Own
By no means is the NFL going into this without precaution. In fact, it recently overhauled its own in-house gambling policies. This has meant there has not been an NFL player suspended for gambling violations in over a year. This follows the last off-season, when ten players were suspended for it.
This year, compulsory training on gambling for all players has been introduced. Created with the Players Association, it both makes players aware of the pitfalls and tells them the golden rules when playing for the NFL, which is never to bet on NFL games or gamble when with the team. This extends to having family members make bets, along with fantasy football betting and even joining online sportsbooks. All of this is done in person, at mini-training camps, so there is no swerving in the process.
Where the NFL heads next is quite unknown. It seems certain that after this social sweepstakes licensing, it will go into real money slot games. The rest of the world uses these, and with emerging markets in Latin America that know the NFL well, it is a perfect match.
Yet as a purveyor of daily sports entertainment, the NFL must tread carefully, possibly more so than it is already doing. There are many American states that are still very conservative when it comes to gambling laws and regulations. By aligning themselves with these companies, they could damage their brand image forever more, and in a world where attention is a commodity, people could go elsewhere.
