Comments on: The NFL's Position On Sports Betting In Delaware

By: TommyUrbanskisLegs

TommyUrbanskisLegs — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:40:44 +0000

What a joke. The NFL is dead set against this, until they can figure out a way to shift the profits to them. There needs to be serious consideration of bringing back antitrust suits. I’m not even a gambler (except when I think of some of the women I’ve slept with) but the incessant need of Goodell to interfere with states, suspend players before even being convicted of crimes, shows extreme arrogance on the part of the NFL – and the courts or Congress need to bring them down a peg or two.

By: texasPHINSfan

texasPHINSfan — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:15:58 +0000

no one seems to address the question of why the NFL is sticking their nose in this. who are they to dictate a state’s law passing abilities? especially a state they aren’t even headquartered in? is there even any NFL business interests in Delaware, franchise or otherwise?
so why do they care, and why do they even have a say?

By: stevehg

stevehg — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:47:07 +0000

TheDPR is right. As a matter of fact, I believe that the anti-internet gambling law that was passed several years ago specifically outlaws “games of chance” not skill. Then they claimed poker was all luck but not skill. This argument seems to be completely opposite which says a lot about the logic behind most anti-gambling fanatics. Like Florio said, it’s going to be done anyway…

By: Smush Rodrigez

Smush Rodrigez — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:30:00 +0000

The NFL is so arrogant and full of itself. We should have Arlen Spector look into them. Betting is what makes a large number of people watch football. I know tons of people who only watch the other games (not local team) because they have money on it.
The sports books should be able to sue the Patriots for not disclosing the Moroney injury…. unless they did disclose it to the books.

By: Shaun Lowrie

Shaun Lowrie — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:33:50 +0000

One picture sums up my thoughts on Sports gambling: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/argel1/ohdear.jpg I hate Seattle. How many people do you think had the Bungles that week either? Oh yeah, I know how to pick games, but man... sometimes life just punches you full in the face.

By: TheDPR

TheDPR — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:58:30 +0000

The “skill” versus “luck” argument seems absurd to me, especially in that apparently many states allow “luck” gambling but not “skill” gambling. Great. It’s illegal to apply a skill to something to earn money but it’s ok for the state gov. to rake in billions of dollars from poor schmucks trying their luck.
Seems backwards, no?

By: DonkeyRider

DonkeyRider — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:54:35 +0000

The powers that be in the NFL should be ashamed of themselves. The NFL has no business being involved in state law making. It seems like the NFL is the only company of all of those incorporated in Delaware (currently over 50 percent of US publicly traded corporations and 60 percent of the Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware), that has a problem with Delaware trying to find alternate funding sources for their coffers. I think the NFL has 3 options. Accept it and move on, pay the state extra taxes so it can stay solvent, or get the hell out of Delaware and let the state government do what it sees fit. If I could quote the tenth amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”.

By: MJA

MJA — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:17:25 +0000

Wouldn’t injuries increase the “luck” factor of NFL betting?

By: Vet735

Vet735 — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:20:22 +0000

The NFL is so full of it. Legal sports betting in Canada, England. Apparently those aren’t a big deal.

By: brianlion

brianlion — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:13:46 +0000

how does the NFL have any kind of standing to bring this suit? Every piece of data that exists today shows that the NFL can only benefit from more states legalizing sports wagering. There;s no way for them to prove adverse impact on this.

By: east96st

east96st — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:53:56 +0000

“Sports betting is based on skill”
Tell that to any bookie and he’ll laugh his ass off. With the rare exception of a very few individuals, anyone gambling on sports on a weekly basis loses. It may take a year, it may take two. You can read every report you want, it doesn’t matter. Eventually, since the odds are stacked against you, you come up short. No one beats the spread week in and week out for years at a time.

By: jramler

jramler — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:11:52 +0000

There is legal sports betting everywhere in Canada, yet the NFL has no problem putting more games in Canada every year.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:09:17 +0000

I’ll take you up Florio, I’ll argue that sport’s betting is the equivalent of flipping a coin and the same basic principals that scholarly finance texts argue that stock prices are perfectly priced at all times. Supply and demand drives the line just as it drives stock prices. Imbalances in likelihood of payouts are naturally adjusted by demand for the undervalued side of the transaction. The only thing that can derail this would be insider information and a lack of liquidity, which I posit would both be aided by more legalized gambling.
And as to “iheartjesus” the trees are farmed bro, if they didn’t replant them they wouldn’t have a business. You might as well go save a potato….

By: ChargersFootball

ChargersFootball — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:24:11 +0000

online sports betting is a huge business.it was shut down almost globally a few years ago. in the offshore world the talk was untill the government can regulate it and get a piece of the pie. the NFL is a magnet for gambling and theres a reason they post injury reports and spreads as early as sunday night.as a long time football handicapper i can promise you the NFL is covering thier ass to keep the feds off thier ass.theres sooooo much more to all of this and im watching closely.

By: psubeerman

psubeerman — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:15:06 +0000

Since Delaware has horse betting, video poker, and video blackjack, all of which involve some level of skill, it’s doubtful they would rule that sports betting doesn’t fit the mold of already legal methods of betting.
A bigger issue is the effect on Delaware and it’s taxpayers if the NFL gets its way. Delaware needs the revenue generated from sports betting to balance a budget. What happens if they don’t get this money? Probably one of two things: a tax hike or a cut in services. It’s probably best not to get involved in such matters when, in reality, the NFL will benefit greatly from this new law.

By: sevenirongator

sevenirongator — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:57:46 +0000

I can’t think of a state as backwards as Delaware… Well ok one state.

By: alamedaman

alamedaman — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:39:55 +0000

would you mind posting the brief somewhere Florio? some of us armchair quarterback/legal analysts would like to see it.

By: jmclarkent

jmclarkent — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:20:09 +0000

“We hate sports betting.
…by the way, here is the latest mandatory injury report.”

By: Imabigdog

Imabigdog — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:56:57 +0000

What I lose in this whole thing is the (LEAGAL) reason that the NFL is protesting. I know how the NFL feels about gambeling.
Why should the NFL have a say so in what laws the state(s) pass. Don’t they have to prove that this law would cause them some type of harm?
They don’t have a team in the state – Their corp headquartes are not in the state. What leagal right do they have to protest this law?

By: iheartjesus

iheartjesus — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:48:46 +0000

The only thing I took out of this whole post was the “acres of dead trees” comment. I like you more and more everyday, Florio. Maybe that VW van actually does hold symbolic meaning for you. I dig liberals who like football.