The Oakland Raiders' flirtation with relocating to Las Vegas reached an apex this week when owner Mark Davis pledged $500 million towards a new stadium in Sin City. Though the prevalence of legalized gambling has scared professional sports leagues from expanding into Vegas for decades, it appears as if Roger Goodell is beginning to soften his stance on the possibility.
The NFL has ‘evolved’ on gambling just in time for the Raiders to pursue a Las Vegas stadium
In an interview with ESPN’s Mike & Mike Friday, Goodell said his position on gambling is “evolving.”
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
In an interview with ESPN’s Mike & Mike Friday, Goodell said he views gambling differently now than he once did.
“All of us have evolved a little bit on gambling,” Goodell said. “To me, where I cross the line is anything that can impact on the integrity of the game. If people think it is something that can influence the outcome of a game, we are absolutely opposed to that.”
Though the NFL remains opposed to sports gambling, it’s opened up partnerships in recent years with well-known daily fantasy sports startups DraftKings and FanDuel. Twenty-nine of 32 NFL franchises have advertising contracts with those two companies and Yahoo! Inc.
When asked about this apparent contradiction, Goodell said he thinks there’s a difference between daily fantasy sports and gambling.
“I don’t think daily fantasy is [sports gambling],” Goodell said. I don’t think [daily fantasy] affects the outcomes of games. There’s a mashup of all these personalities, there’s no influence to try to change the outcome of a game. That’s the area where we draw a very heavy line. Daily fantasy, to me, is not in that category.”
Goodell’s position puts him at odds with lawmakers throughout the country. Since October, several states have deemed daily fantasy sports as a form of legalized gambling –– including New York, where NFL headquarters are located.
With the NFL now hosting a slate of games each season in London, where sports gambling is highly prevalent, it makes business sense for Goodell to start evolving his position on the topic. With the Raiders reportedly being against sharing a stadium in Los Angeles with the Rams, it’s wise for the league to entertain the possibility of moving a team to Las Vegas –– even if just as a point of leverage.
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