The National Football League’s new gambling policy requires mandatory training for all players, coaches, and staff on prohibited forms of gambling, most of which are already illegal in Texas.
However, one form of online gambling prohibited under the NFL’s new policy is available to Dallas Cowboy and Houston Texan players in Texas: daily fantasy sports.
There is no law that either allows or prohibits daily fantasy sports play in Texas.
DFS is not a “gray area” for the NFL
Texas daily fantasy sports exist in a legal “gray” area.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has stated his opposition to daily fantasy sports. Still, no lawmaker has written a bill either allowing or prohibiting them. So, they persist and thrive in the Lone Star State as one of the few forms of online gambling available.
While most Texans age 18+ are allowed to play DFS in Texas, that is no longer true for NFL players.
The new NFL gambling policy includes six main rules:
- Never bet on the NFL, including the NFL Draft and Combine, and also league awards.
- Never ask another individual to wager for you.
- Don’t gamble on other sports or play casino or card games for money while at your team facility or stadium, traveling with your team, or staying at a team hotel.
- Never share team inside information.
- Do not go into a retail sportsbook during the NFL season.
- Don’t play daily fantasy football.
NFL makes gambling education mandatory
Along with the new rules, the NFL has taken steps to better educate players and coaches ahead of the 2024 season.
For the first time, in-person gambling policy education in coordination with the NFL Players Association was mandatory for all NFL players. Last season, the NFL made gambling education and training optional for its players, said NFL chief compliance officer Sabrina Perel.
“We learned from last year when in-person education was optional, the benefits of presenting in-person [training]. So, for all 32 teams this year, the education was conducted at the team facility during minicamps or training camp.”
During training camps this year, a league representative who monitors for suspicious gambling activity visited each team. The NFL states that that person is “typically retired FBI/executive level police officers” who work with local law enforcement and other government agencies.
Third-party monitoring agencies will also pay close attention to betting odds and line movement leading up to a game. They will alert the league if they suspect some form of game manipulation.
In a further signal that the league is committed to protecting its integrity, the NFL renewed its support of the National Council on Problem Gambling. The NFL has pledged $6.4 million to that organization over the next three years.
