The league’s tri-exclusive arrangement with sportsbooks has doubled, plus one.
The league has announced that four more sportsbook operators have become approved league partners. In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars, the NFL has authorized PointsBet, BetMGM, FOX Bet, and Wynnbet to purchase in-game commercial units during the coming season.
Per the league, no sportsbooks beyond those seven will be permitted to purchase NFL advertising.
PointsBet is the official sports betting partner of NBC, and PFT exclusively licenses all content to NBC.
These deals become part of the NFL’s anticipated revenue of $270 million in 2021 from sports betting agreements. By the end of the decade, the league believes it will realize $1 billion annually from wagering on sports.
After decades of indirectly making money from illegal gambling (via enhanced interest in watching the games) and pretending to hate everything about it, the NFL now makes no effort to hide its love affair with legal gambling. At $1 billion per year in extra revenue for doing basically nothing in return, it’s very easy to flip the switch from hate to love.