The NFL gambles on a lottery…and wins.

This certainly is not your dad’s NFL.  Everyone knows that the NFL is against gambling (*cough*even though they’re associated with CBS Sports Line, which has football odds on their site *cough*), they’ve even filed a brief in Delaware, attempting to block the legalization of sports gambling in the state.  The NFL’s argument?

Basically, the NFL takes the position that “’skill’ plays an impermissible role” in sports wagering, and the league explains that it’s a far cry from a lottery determined by chance.

This suggests to us that the legal standard the Delaware Supreme Court will be applying is whether and to what extent the proposed gambling activities constitute a lottery determined by chance.

The NFL believes that the usage of skill, which in this case boils down to knowing information about the teams involved, injuries, point spreads, etc. is different than a lottery which is nothing more than random chance and probability.  Bolstering the NFL’s argument that “Lotteries aren’t gambling” is a new NFL rule, allowing NFL teams to sell lottery sponsorships.

NFL teams can sell lottery sponsorships for a two-year trial period after the league’s owners voted yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale to open the category.

Teams can now align with state lotteries, which will be able to sell scratch-and-win cards featuring team logos.

For states with two teams, the issues of how to divide the rights will be left to the clubs, said Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt. The Chiefs, who share Missouri with the Rams, can also align with the lottery in Kansas, Hunt added.

Team officials expect the category to bring in up to $1M annually.

It took a day for NFL teams to embrace their new policy.  The , while the Packers, Bills, and Ravens are already in discussions to sign deals with lotteries as well.

So, to review, the NFL isn’t willing to completely overturn the now Draconian rule disallowing gambling on football games.  But, in part due to the economy, they do finally recognize that some form of gambling (in the form of chance) is allowable, especially in tough economic times.  The result?  scratch off lottery tickets with NFL logos.  It’s a step, right?  At some point, I foresee the NFL allowing gambling of some sort; its too large a revenue stream to go unnoticed.  Some even argue that the brief filed in the Delaware case is more for show than for practice.  If the NFL can either work with larger booking agencies, or sanction the gambling themselves and monopolize the revenue?  How can they continue to turn away from that, and continue to let others monopolize on “their revenue”?

For now though, NFL fans can “get’cha quarters ready” and start scratching.