NFL teams okay to ink betting partners, open ‘betting lounges’

The National Football League’s once vehemently anti-betting stance is slowly being brushed aside like so much dandruff off Roger Goodell’s navy blue blazer.

On Friday, Sports Business Daily reported that the NFL’s Sports Betting Committee — honestly, it seems weird just reading that — had informed teams that they were now free to enter into individual sponsorships with US-licensed sports betting operators.

The NFL previously allowed teams to enter into sponsorships with companies engaged in sports betting provided the relationship wasn’t explicitly betting-focused. The NFL itself named Caesars Entertainment its Official Casino Sponsor, despite the ubiquity of sportsbooks at Caesars’ Nevada properties.

Last September, the NFL signed DraftKings as its first Daily Fantasy Sports Partner, even as the company was becoming far better known as a sportsbook operator. The NFL even signed its first official wagering partner, although it chose Australia’s Tabcorp, presumably due to the lack of domestic attention such a deal would garner.