Certain NFL wagers have been halted in Illinois.
Following a formal request sent by the NFL to have 11 types of bets prohibited that the league deems “inherently objectionable,” the Illinois Gaming Board announced that administrator Marcus Fruchter issued a temporary suspension on Thursday.
“I have determined that any wagering of the manner identified in the attached request poses a significant likelihood of serious risk to the integrity of the Illinois sports wagering industry,” Fruchter wrote on a signed-off request form.
The IGB will revisit the matter at a Dec. 12 meeting.
Until it is resolved, online and retail sports betting operators in Illinois are not allowed to offer negative-outcome wagers that the NFL says hurt the integrity of the game, players, and consumers.
Types of wagers
Among these betting markets the NFL asked the sports betting regulators to disallow are ones that the league deems “susceptible to manipulation.”
Those wagers are “predetermined or 100% determinable by one person,” including the first play of the game, the first pass to be incomplete, and a player to miss a field goal or extra-point try.
The NFL also wants to ban any wagers that involve roster or personnel decisions and officiating assignments, which are determined before a game.
“Prohibiting these wagers altogether would complement NFL policies that require game participants, and other NFL personnel, to use their best efforts on the playing field and to protect NFL ‘inside information,’” Jonathan Nabavi, vice president for the NFL Public Policy and Government Affairs, wrote in the request form to the IGB.
Other wagers temporarily halted involve player injuries, player misconduct, fan safety, penalties, and replay results.
The NFL says those types of bets are “inherently derogatory, designed to be inflammatory, or otherwise based on subject matter against public policy.”
Taking steps
Nabavi said that the NFL has worked to prohibit these wagers in Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Vermont.
Some states proactively banned the threatening and risky wagers through legislation or rules established in the regulatory framework, Nabavi added.
“We look forward to working with the Board to ensure that the potentially harmful or objectionable bet types are not offered in the Illinois market,” Nabavi stated. “There is no greater priority for the NFL than protecting the integrity of our games and the welfare of our players. Fans, players, coaches, and personnel deserve to know that we are doing everything possible to ensure no improper influences affect how our games are played and that we are taking all appropriate steps to ensure that their participation in our games is not subjected to unfair and unwarranted allegations relating to sports gambling.”
