Right now, there’s a lot of legal posturing going on between many major professional and collegiate sports leagues and the state of Delaware over single-game betting. Delaware is one of a few states exempt from federal law, since they tinkered with single-game parlays prior to the national statute prohibiting such endeavors going into effect. Or something.
That’s probably the most legal jargon I’ve ever written, so excuse me if any minor details are wrong. I sorta just blacked out and scribbled some stuff down that sounded kind of right. From my viewpoint, this is what’s going down. Delaware, feeling the weight of the recession, decides to open single-game betting across various sports platforms to make some cash. It seems like the NFL and other sports leagues are trying to stop Delaware from doing this, because they can’t make money off of the state’s plan.
I don’t bet…the most I’ve ever really gambled in that state is like 20 bucks at the Delaware Park Casino slots, so I have a pretty neutral stance. The NFL and other leagues are right to limit betting on single games, as they want to keep the integrity of sport clean. Yet they also profit and and have a relationship with Vegas oddsmakers to find current NFL odds, so it’s hypocritical to pick and choose which kind of gambling to allow.
But the NFL has a plan to make some serious cash on other gambling ventures if they cannot prohibit Delaware’s proposal. And they kicked off today… right in time for the season to start!
Man, Steelers fans will buy just about anything remotely related to the Black and Gold. Just yesterday, the gift my aunt got me for my birthday arrived at my apartment. In it was a Steelers/Penguins t-shirt saying, “On Ice Or Grass, We’ll Kick Your Ass,” as well as a plastic Steelers mug that shoots LED lights up from the bottom of whatever beverage you’re currently drankin’ on. And a Super Bowl XL program…of which I have about 5 copies now. Leagues such as the NFL know that local fans buy up any ridiculous merch featuring their teams, so they churn out anything with a logo or a name and watch the money fly in.
So go right ahead and let people gamble on football games in your state, Delaware. The NFL’s profits on the Pennsylvania Lottery instant games will probably trump whatever you make. There’ll probably be more than a few Pittsburghers who will buy these tickets and frame some unscratched ones to go with the rest of their Steelers collection.
