NFL inconsistent on gambling

Stances spark accusations of hypocrisy

Now more than ever before, the NFL’s public position on gambling has become quite an artful dance.

On one side of the ballroom, the league opposes sports gambling and is against promoting casinos. The NFL even continues to fight a lawsuit that seeks payback from the league after it banned Tony Romo and other players from an event at a Las Vegas casino property in 2015.

On the other side of the room, the league increasingly has flirted with the gambling industry in recent years, including allowing advertising from casinos. In Arizona, casino company Gila River Gaming Enterprises confirmed to USA TODAY Sports this month that it has been having discussions with the Arizona Cardinals about buying naming rights to their stadium.

“This pertains to the stadium naming rights,” the casino company said before reaching a nondisclosure agreement about it with the team. “This is a result of continued communications with the Arizona Cardinals through our strong existing relationship.”

The league’s gambling policy prohibits the sale of “primary stadium or field naming rights” to gambling-related establishments. So why is this a possibility in Arizona? The bigger question many have asked recently is why the league maintains this conflicted policy, especially after ap- STORY CONTINUES ON 6C