The Baltimore Ravens announced Wednesday that they’ll partner with the Maryland Lottery for a team-themed scratch-and-lose ticket. The Saints also will be reportedly announcing a lottery partnership in Louisiana, too. The Patriots, Redskins, and Texans also have deals in place. The Cowboys are working on a similar deal. In the press release announcing the collaboration, the Ravens added language possibly aimed at taking some of the edge off the potential appearance of hypocrisy regarding the league’s decision to embrace lottery-style gambling, while fighting to prevent legalized sports betting in Delaware. “The partnership is a new endeavor for the National Football League following a decades-long, no-gambling policy that was recently overturned by NFL owners,” the Ravens’ release states. “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said lottery proceeds could generate money for ‘many important public purposes.’ . . . The NFL agreed to let lotteries across the country use team logos and marks directly on lottery games.” Fine, but legalized sports betting could also “generate money for ‘many important public purposes.’” Indeed, plenty of illegal gambling already occurs. So why not legalize it and let the state get its cut? For more on the fine line on which the NFL is tiptoeing when it comes to gambling, here’s the last new PFTV segment of the week.
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