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A Nielsen report commissioned by the American Gaming Association and released on Wednesday spells out the amount of money that can be made by the NFL from legalized sports betting: Billions of dollars.
There would be an increased interest in the NFL resulting in an increase of media rights fees, sponsorship of betting operators and ancillary advertising opportunities. LIVE IN-PLAY wagering would result in $30 million a year in revenue to the league, the report forecasts.
A nationwide, legal sports betting product available to all would affect annual media rights fees by nearly 18 percent, sponsorship by more than 7 percent and ticket sales by more than 6 percent.
Nielsen's report does not factor in so-called "integrity fees," where the league -- and perhaps the union -- would get a cut of the handle of what is bet on NFL games. The AGA has staunchly opposed such a model.
"So much time has been spent on talk over integrity fees," said Sara Slane, the senior vice president of public affairs for the AGA. "We think these numbers are conservative and show that the league is frankly tripping over dollars to pick up pennies."
So far only four states have opened up to sports gambling: Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia and Mississippi. Others are expected to following in their path but not until later in the NFL season or after the 2019 Super Bowl, Pennsylvania and New York included.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
