NFL’s six main gambling rules for players has one lingering donut hole

The NFL has managed to get through the offseason without any gambling controversies. As the 2024 regular-season approaches, the league is reminding everyone of the six basic rules that apply to players under the league’s gambling policy.

Like last year, these provisions apply:

1. “NEVER bet on the NFL: Includes other NFL events such as Draft, Combine, Pro Bowl, & NFL Honors.”

2. “Don’t have someone bet for you: Do not ask family, friends, or others to place a bet for you.”

3. “Don’t gamble (no bets on sports, casino or card games) at your team facility/stadium, while traveling for a road game, or staying at a team hotel.”

4. “Don’t share team ‘inside information’: Don’t share information that hasn’t been announced by team.”

5. “Don’t enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season.”

6. “Don’t play daily fantasy football.”

It’s basic, it’s simple, it’s accurate. But it’s not entirely complete. The six rules omit one important fact — do not gamble on any sports at any time in jurisdictions where gambling is not yet legalized.

Some would say it’s an obvious point. Still, it’s an important one. With gambling so widely accepted and advertised and incorporated into NFL pregame shows, players in the remaining states where it has yet to be legalized might think it’s OK to gamble on non-NFL events in the old-school way: Through a bookie.

That’s a problem, and not just because it technically violates the law in those states. The FanDuels and DraftKings of the world get your money up front. Bookies operate on credit. And, as we learned in the Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara situation, that debt can grow. And grow. And grow.

That debt can be used to generate leverage, as it apparently was with former NBA player Jontay Porter. He exited games early, gamblers bet the unders on his prop bets, and they made money — until it all blew up.

It’s not hard to rectify. Currently, there are six rules. Make it seven. Never bet on sports in a state where sports betting is illegal.

And, really, why not take it one step farther? Never use a private bookie for placing bets on sports. Since they operate on credit, they’re surely still out there, even in the states where legal apps are prevalent.

Given that the FanDuels and DraftKings of the world have ratted out to the NFL players who used those apps, that’s another reason for players to make otherwise legal wagers through technically illegal avenues.

There’s no harm in adding it to the list. There could be harm if players think it’s OK to bet on other sports with a bookie. And then, once the player racks up a gigantic debt, the things that happen next might not be OK, for anyone.