I was totally against the NFL, and all of pro sports for that matter, when they began to flirt with sports gambling. 

Teams have aligned with betting sites and the Raiders played their first season in Sin City in 2020.

And now, we are on the doorstep of a Las Vegas Super Bowl. I never thought the greatest sporting event would ever be held in Vegas, but that’s where we are. Super Bowl LVIII is a referendum on sports gambling and its economic impact. 

The NFL makes $132 million from gambling related sponsorships. The online sports betting revenue for 2023 was nearly $11 billion. Since 1992, Americans have legally wagered about $245 billion. There are many TV and radio shows dedicated to gambling and you cannot watch the scores on ESPN’s BottomLine without seeing lines and an over/under. 

But the NFL has also doubled down and has become the National Council on Problem Gambling’s largest donor.

There are still whispers about the NFL being rigged and even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had to address it this week. “I don’t think I’m that good a scripter or anybody on our staff.”

There is the fear that more access to gambling could potentially cause problems with credibility, but I think aligning yourself with legalized gambling makes it easier to be policed. 

If a player is dropping balls or missing tackles on purpose, you don’t think folks in Vegas are going to find out? That’s the last place that anyone should be cheating. There is so much money invested in hotels, resorts and entertainment and it has all come on the backs of gambling. They will do whatever needs to be done to protect the Golden Goose. 

So where do we go from here? Well, the floodgates are open. As we see more states legalize sports gambling, teams will have to find creative ways to get fans into stadiums. Will fans opt to stay in bars and gamble on their phones or is the allure of the in-game experience still as valuable as it once was?

This Super Bowl is closing a chapter on one generation and starting a chapter that many don’t look forward to. Many are afraid that gambling has replaced the actual game and the storylines that it generates. I disagree. The game is always going to be interesting — whether you’ve got skin in the game or not. And there will always be juicy storylines. In this Super Bowl, we’ve got a quarterback that has a cap hit of $57.3 million in 2024 and one that has a miniscule cap hit of $1.004 million. And that guy that is getting paid less next year is on the team that’s favored on Sunday. 

Look, gambling isn’t going anywhere. People have an insatiable appetite for football and betting on it has become America’s favorite side dish.

Everything from betting on games to fantasy football to betting on individual players, betting has taken the NFL into another stratosphere and has made the league even more popular.