NFL Requests Federal Assistance to Address 'Illicit Sports Betting Market' in Letter

The NFL wants the federal government to help the league address the growth of the "illicit sports betting market."

Jonathan Nabavi, vice president of public policy and government affairs for the NFL, wrote to U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) Friday in a letter obtained by ESPN.

"We believe that additional attention and resources are needed from lawmakers and law-enforcement to address the illicit sports betting market, which still has the power of incumbency," Nabavi wrote.

Nabavi's letter was sent in response to a June 15 inquiry from Titus, who requested information from major sports leagues regarding how they protect the "integrity" of games given the growth of sports betting.

Sports betting is legal in 34 states and Washington D.C. and has led to alleged player violations of league gambling policies in both the NFL and NCAA.

Legalized sports betting has spread rapidly throughout the United States since the Supreme Court struck down the federal law prohibiting most states from legalizing the practice in 2018.

"Our efforts to uphold game integrity have been ongoing throughout the history of the league and our commitment has not wavered since the Supreme Court's decision," Nabavi wrote to Titus. "The increased accessibility of sports betting has made our efforts even more important."

Titus, co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, also sent her request for transparency surrounding sports betting policies to the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, PGA, ATP, Formula One, NASCAR, UFC, NWSL, WNBA, IBF and NCAA.

NCAA president Charlie Baker responded to the missive on July 12 by telling Titus the NCAA had found 175 sports betting infractions since 2018 and has 17 active investigations.

The NCAA works with an outside "integrity monitoring service" that monitors college sports competitions in order to flag suspicious betting patterns, which Baker told the Associated Press occur in less than 0.25 percent of NCAA sporting events.

"I appreciate Congress' increased attention to the topic of sports betting," Baker wrote in a letter obtained by the AP. "I agree with you that in addition to the opportunities it creates, sports betting brings risk that could undermine the integrity of competition."

Titus' campaign for league transparency is part of an increased federal push toward taking a larger role in regulating the rapidly growing legal sports betting market. Rep. Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) in February introduced the Betting on our Future Act, which proposes banning all online and electronic advertisements of sports gambling.