Rozner: Fantasy football forces gambling discussion again
The NFL product has never been worse.
It is officially beyond mediocre. On many Sundays, it's downright dreadful.
But it's a monster that explodes by the week, despite a commodity that grows weaker by the game. Ratings get bigger and bigger and NFL pockets get deeper and deeper.
And why is that? We all know the answer.
Gambling.
Hundreds of billions will be bet on NFL games this season and only a fraction will be wagered legally, meaning most of the bets are placed offshore or with the guy in the corner bodega, with no regulation, safety net or tax revenue.
Yet, NFL boss Roger Goodell will pretend that he hates the idea, while knowing the $40 million he pockets annually is due entirely to fans wanting to bet on his football games.
That's why ratings are huge, sponsors are desperate to be a part of it and NFL team valuations are skyrocketing.
And still Goodell says he doesn't know or like anything about point spreads. The hypocrisy is staggering.
But it's getting tougher for him to act as if it's not happening now that daily fantasy sites DraftKings and FanDuel are under scrutiny in Nevada and New York.
So why don't some states allow it, why are some investigating, and why does the NCAA want no part of it?
The truth is ask almost any gambler and he or she will tell you that daily fantasy games are absolutely gambling, filled with professionals and amateurs, the former consistently taking money from latter, who is mostly in it for the entertainment value.
You're betting money to try to win more money and paying a percentage to the house. In the case of daily fantasy, it's actually putting up money to try to win a lot of money, sort of like the lottery and some days feeling that difficult.
Of course, there's skill involved, which is how fantasy sites pretend to differentiate. But the pros will say there's skill involved in daily gambling, too. The professional, for example, will arbitrage a particular game and hope to middle it, winning both bets.
Daily fantasy is gambling and it should be legal and regulated, just like sports betting in Vegas - and just like it should be around the country. It's legal just about everywhere else in the Western world and no one pretends otherwise.
Still, here we pretend, while billions are bet offshore, unregulated, untaxed and unable to make certain winners are paid.
Last year, NBA commissioner Adam Silver wrote an op-ed in The New York Times where he suggested sports betting "should be brought out of the underground," and earlier this year he said on a New York radio show - Boomer & Carton - that he knows sports betting is good for business.
"I did speak to all the other commissioners," Silver said. "There was a range of reactions. Some were, 'What are you doing?' Others were, 'Let's study it, seems like an interesting idea.'
"And that is not that we're necessarily out there promoting sports betting, but the latest estimate is there's somewhere between $300 billion and $400 billion a year being bet on sports in this country."
Silver doesn't pretend it's not occurring, so he prefers an open discussion of what can be done to ensure and protect his league's integrity, much like in Europe, where you can legally bet on virtually any sport at any time.
"Because they have all that data, they're able to monitor it," Silver said. "And if there's any irregular activity whatsoever, it's like tracking insider trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
"If there's a blip, if there's unusual activity, they know to investigate. So first the issue for us is if all this betting is going to go on anyway, we should be able to monitor it. And then, No. 2, if all this betting activity is going to go on anyway, make it legal.
"It's good for business. I don't want to hide from that. Putting aside whether or not we're actually actively involved in any of the betting, it creates more engagement. We all know as fans if you have even a gentleman's bet or a $5 bet with your friend on a game, all of a sudden you're a lot more interested."
The various professional sports leagues have real and serious ties to the fantasy sites, some leagues investing in those companies, some owners privately investing, some leagues partnered directly. The largest cable monopoly in the country is an investor, and all the leagues take the monster advertising dollars that have swamped airtime with nonstop commercials.
They all profit from it and don't want to see it called gambling because it exposes their hypocrisy.
But the question shouldn't be about whether daily fantasy is gambling. Of course it is.
The real question is, why isn't sports gambling legal, taxed and regulated at a time when millions of people are gambling every day and at a time when we so badly need the tax revenue? How is it any different from the lottery, horse racing or casinos?
Legalize sports betting already. It seems inevitable so maybe it's finally time to stop pretending.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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