David Purdum, ESPN
MLB and the NBA, NCAA, NFL and NHL fought a nearly 10-year legal battle with New Jersey to stop the state from legalizing sports betting and, in 2018, lost in the U.S. Supreme Court. The landmark decision brought sports betting to the forefront and put more focus on the policies leagues are relying on as the landscape evolves.
Now, with more than half the nation offering legal betting, professional leagues and collegiate sports face a new reality and a straightforward business decision about whether to participate in a growing revenue stream that is not without risk.
Just five years ago, before the Supreme Court’s ruling, roughly 1% of Americans lived in states with legal betting. Now, 56% of the population resides in jurisdictions that have launched regulated sportsbooks. Results from a May survey from the American Gaming Association estimated 39.2 million American adults had placed a traditional sports wager in the past 12 months.
Sports betting is more prevalent than ever before in American history. With that comes lucrative partnerships with sportsbooks and new advertising revenue streams. The amount sportsbook brands have spent on national TV commercials annually has increased from $21.4 million in 2019 to $314.6 million in 2022 and sports betting ads have increased by more than threefold, according to data from iSpot, a company that measures TV advertising and audiences.
“Sports betting has increased interest in sports of all kinds, including college sports, which is great for our fans,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a May release announcing survey results on the prevalence of sports betting among young adults. “But the NCAA and everyone from coaches to athletics department staff and college presidents must better understand what impact sports betting may have on student-athletes.”
Professional leagues, through their betting partnerships with sportsbook operators and integrity firms that monitor sports betting, also have gained significantly more visibility into the bets on the games. And they haven’t always liked what they’ve found.
On Thursday, the NFL suspended Isaiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry of the Indianapolis Colts and free agent Demetrius Taylor indefinitely for betting on NFL games last season. In addition, Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere is being suspended six games for betting on other sports at the workplace.
In early May, more than 40 student-athletes from Iowa and Iowa State were flagged in a betting investigation, and Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired after being linked to alleged suspicious betting activity. Seven NFL players, at least one assistant coach and an undisclosed number of team employees have been found to have violated the league’s gambling policy in the past five years.
The gambling policies of the NCAA and major professional sports leagues differ. To get an idea of what’s allowed for players, coaches, front-office staff and referees, we break it down by sport to see how they’re navigating the evolving American betting scene. — David Purdum
