The National Hockey League (NHL) is not yet an official sports betting partner, but its expansion franchise in Nevada has signed deals with William Hill and MGM Resorts International to provide betting data for the Vegas Golden Knights. Other clubs in states that allow legal sports gambling have similar sponsorships with bookmakers. In addition, the NHL has banned players, coaches and team officials from using their social media accounts to place bets on games or individual players.
A player, coach or team official can only place a bet on a game in which they play or are scheduled to play, or on a player’s individual performance in that game. A bet on a specific event is called a money line wager. In order to win a bet on a money line wager, the participant must correctly predict the outcome of a particular game. If a player or coach loses a bet on a game, they are considered losers and must forfeit their winnings.
In addition to these rules, MLB has a general policy against gambling on baseball games that is posted on dugout walls and includes the statement, “Any member of any club or league staff who bets any sum whatsoever upon any game in which he/she has any duty to perform will be permanently ineligible for employment in Major League Baseball.” Postseason officials are screened for criminal charges or convictions related to gambling or sports wagering, and those who are found to have violated MLB’s gambling policies are banned from all activities in association with the league.
It’s important for people betting on sports to remember that their bets are placed with a licensed sportsbook. The majority of US-based sportsbooks are regulated by state law and have to comply with strict rules regarding how bettors are treated and payments made. Betting with unlicensed sites could result in problems when trying to win money, such as not being paid out or the sportsbook closing without returning customer funds.
The NFL is known as Teflon and is almost impossible to break, but if there was one thing that would cause the league to lose its sheen, it’s a betting scandal. There have been multiple instances of players, coaches and front office personnel being linked to illegal gambling operations in the past several years. In 2022, the league was able to crack down on the problem by beefing up its in-house technology and working with regulators, sportsbooks and integrity monitors.
The NFL also has a ban on placing bets on the league itself, which means that players cannot place bets on their own teams or on other games in their stadiums or practice facilities. This includes traveling with the team to a road game, and it also extends to hotels and other accommodations during a trip. This was a common issue in the past with DFS (daily fantasy sports) operators, but the industry has since moved away from this model.