What are the NFL's betting rules during the Super Bowl?

The NFL's rules on gambling have drawn criticism and questions ahead of the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, as the league looks to balance its sportsbook partnerships and its policies to prevent players from betting on games.

Gambling was a major topic at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's annual Super Bowl press conference on Monday when he said the “integrity of the league” was the top priority.

“We want to make sure that when people watch NFL games, they know the action on the field is genuine and without any outside influence,” Goodell said.

With the major sporting event just days away from taking place in America's gambling hub, it's worth revisiting the NFL's policies for its players and how the league's stance has changed over time.

NFL Sports Betting Rules

The league has long maintained that players are not allowed to bet on NFL events. The 2023 Betting Policy states that players may never place, request or facilitate a bet – either directly or through a third party – on “any NFL game, practice or other event, such as the Combine or Draft.”

Players are also prohibited from participating in anyone else's NFL betting activities, such as asking someone to place an NFL-related bet on their behalf or allowing someone else to use his or her account to place an NFL-related bet.

Additionally, players are not allowed to enter a sportsbook during the NFL season (from the Hall of Fame Game through the Super Bowl) “except to gain access to an area outside of a sportsbook,” according to the rules. For example, a player can bypass a sportsbook 'where necessary' to get to a separate area of ​​an entertainment, casino or hotel complex.

For the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers both reside in Lake Las Vegas, about 25 miles east of the Strip.

The league's rules are also specific about when and where players are allowed to gamble.

Players are prohibited from gambling on team or league facilities (such as practice facilities, stadiums and offices) or while traveling with their teams (such as on a team plane or at a team hotel) to participate in an NFL game or seasonal team activity.

Can NFL players bet on other sports?

Players may bet on sports other than the NFL in states where betting is legal, subject to the NFL's rules about entering a sportsbook and betting from the workplace.

For example, a player may not place a bet from an NFL facility, even if the bet is not on an NFL game. Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere were disciplined this season for violating the rule. They were originally given a six-match ban, but the league updated its gambling policy in September, reducing the penalty from six games to four.

Betting on non-NFL events at work or while on the job now carries a two-game suspension for the first offense, six games for a second offense and at least one year for a third offense.

What are the betting rules for the Super Bowl?

Members of the two Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and 49ers, are prohibited from participating in any form of gambling, including casino games and betting on any sport.

Players on the other 30 teams are allowed to engage in “legal gambling” — but not the NFL, and they can't go into a sportsbook until the Super Bowl is over, the league said.

Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said last week: “The rules are no different for the players and other personnel of participating teams than they are for any other game: when it comes to business, There is no gambling, whether sports gambling or otherwise.

“And any player, coach, staff, the undersigned, who were caught or identified while gambling in a casino would be eligible for the disciplinary process, and that would be dealt with in the normal course of discipline, just as we would with any player or other staff that there was evidence that the rules surrounding gambling were being broken.”

The NFL's disciplinary process for gambling violations

Violations of the NFL's gambling policy will be determined on a case-by-case basis by Goodell or his designee, per the 2023 rules.

“Discipline may include, without limitation, a fine, suspension, termination of employment and/or lifetime ban from the NFL,” the rules state.

Below are the basic suspensions for violations of the gambling policy, “with possible upward or downward adjustments,” according to the rules, which note: “Nothing in this policy shall prevent the commissioner from imposing greater discipline for other forms of prohibited conduct. ”

• Betting on NFL: Suspension indefinitely, minimum one year or minimum two years if a player bets on an NFL game involving his team
• Actual or attempted game fixing: Permanent ban from the NFL
• Insider information and tips: Suspension for an indefinite period, minimum one year
• Third party or proxy betting: Suspension for an indefinite period, minimum one year
• Betting (other than NFL) in the workplace or while at work:
  • First offense: two-match suspension without pay
  • Second offense: six-match suspension without pay
  • Third violation: Suspension without pay for a minimum of one year

How has the NFL's attitude toward gambling changed?

The AthleticsMike Jones explained in a recent article how the NFL's complicated relationship with sports betting has evolved:

Since the legalization of sports gambling, the NFL has worked hard to walk a tightrope when it comes to partnering with companies like Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings and ensuring that players avoid activities that would compromise the integrity of the game. The league has not yet released figures on how much revenue partnerships with gambling companies generate, but according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), the NFL brings in $2.3 billion a year in revenue from these deals.

League officials have long frowned on betting on NFL games, worried that involvement would lead to player involvement and questions about the temptation to fix games. But when the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, they felt the need to evolve as well.

“The relationship that the league has with sports gambling has changed for one specific reason, and that is because the world has changed,” Miller said of the league's efforts to promote responsible sports betting practices. “The Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, five years and a few strange months ago. As a result, we had to rethink the way we handle legalized sports gambling, and that's what we did. … And we will continue to look and explore how we do that, in the hope that we can best protect the integrity of the game in a world where the rules have changed.”

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(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)