Opinion | The N.F.L. Bets on Betting – The New York Times

Wingo told me, At the end of the day, once the Supreme Court ruling happened, the N.F.L. was really good at three things. One, they put out a product you just cant get enough of. Two, they know how to market the hell out of it. Three, they know how to make money. And once this thing came open, they knew that there was money to be made. And the NFL is a moneymaking machine.

Wingo himself recently joined Caesars Sportsbook as chief trends officer and brand ambassador. He told me that he sees his job as having changed little from his work with ESPN. Hes still the why guy, explaining to an audience on his podcast and on YouTube how a players stats and performance might influence how they do on any given Sunday (or Thursday or Monday). But with respect to gambling, he said: We can talk about it now. Its a little more open.

A historical aside: Gambling was part of the N.F.L. at its inception. Its rumored that the Steelers founder Art Rooney kept the team afloat through the 1930s with gambling winnings, and the Giants founder Tim Mara was a successful bookmaker. Even basic aspects of the games operations like the weekly injury report teams are required to submit to the league are arguably done for the benefit of Vegas casinos looking to set the lines and determine which teams they think will win and by how much.

But despite the games betting origins, gambling on the N.F.L., if it took place at all, was heavily discouraged by the league, meaning that it was largely kept an open secret, an activity only for mobsters and the very sad.

Some with close ties to the league arent happy about the changes in recent years. In a conference call with reporters, the former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy said that he didnt support the N.F.L.s new stance on betting. I dont think we should encourage people who are watching the N.F.L. to gamble, especially young people, he said. Ive got boys, and I want them to enjoy the game for what it is, the headiness of it and those kinds of things.

There are two main concerns about legalized sports betting and the N.F.L.: first, that the game itself could be corrupted if players, coaches or referees fix games to help gamblers, and second, that users may risk developing gambling addictions with the prevalence of so many options for betting.

Wingo told me that he hoped that legalized sports betting would actually help stop players (or coaches) from intentionally trying to score fewer points or lose games. He gave me the example of a 2007 tennis match held in Europe, where in-game betting is far more common than it is in the United States. After noticing suspicious activity namely, a lot of money coming in favoring a player who was already losing the sports book Betfair halted all transactions and notified the A.T.P. of its concerns.

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Opinion | The N.F.L. Bets on Betting - The New York Times