With sports betting becoming legalized in more and more states, the league has partnered with companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars Entertainment and others to offer bettors the chance to place wagers on everything from how many yards a quarterback will throw for in a given game to who will catch the first touchdown of the game. The NFL has also increased its integrity efforts by hiring more staff and partnering with independent firms that monitor betting activity to identify suspicious bets.
Currently, sports betting is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia. However, there’s still a lot of work to do. While the majority of legal states require that bettors are 21 or older, regulations vary by state in other areas. For instance, some prohibit bets on in-state college teams or events, while others allow bets to be placed on collegiate games and events with player props.
There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the NFL and sports betting, especially with regard to alleged match-fixing. Despite all this, the NFL has continued to assert its dominance in the industry by strengthening internal security and partnering with sportsbooks and integrity firms to enhance monitoring of betting activity. This is a great sign that the NFL is taking its responsibility seriously.
While the NHL doesn’t have a specific policy on sports gambling, it does prohibit players and those associated with a team or the league from placing bets on non-NHL games. This is in keeping with the spirit of its collective bargaining agreement, which clearly states that gambling on NHL games is prohibited.
In addition, the NHL’s Constitution outlines that it is illegal to bet against the league or its teams. This is similar to the rules set out by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which states that any person or company engaged in illegal gambling on a professional ice hockey game will be subject to disciplinary action.
In December 2021, Maryland approved sports betting, and in-person sportsbooks began opening in November of that year. Online sports betting was available through six mobile apps in March of 2023. Massachusetts’s first sportsbooks opened in January of 2023, and the first online sportsbooks were launched the following month. Mississippi passed legislation to legalize sports betting in 2022, but the first sportsbooks didn’t open until August of that year. In the meantime, sports betting is legal in Washington, and a launch date has yet to be announced. Other states are considering legalizing sports betting, including Arkansas and Missouri.