New NFL Rules Enable Foreign Gambling Sponsorships for Teams in Global Program

The National Football League will reportedly allow teams participating in its Global Markets Program to take on new legal gambling sponsors in their assigned countries.

Sports Business Journal first reported the changing of rules, which would open a new revenue stream for some teams that isn’t feasible or is unavailable back home.

Previously, teams could ink deals with only companies with league-level partnerships.  Now, they will be allowed to align with any gambling sponsor that is legally regulated in their international market. Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel are the NFL’s official sportsbook partners.

Twenty-one NFL teams are participating in the program, which grants franchises exclusive marketing opportunities in one of 14 international markets they are assigned.

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SBJ quoted league sources who said the new rules would help teams monetize opportunities in their satellite markets. It would presumably also stimulate NFL betting in foreign markets.

David Highhill, NFL general manager of sports betting, told SBJ that in sports betting “so much of the entertainment is tied to the live game itself, and we think that’s a key part of driving engagement and fans growth abroad.”

European Gambling Partners for Vikings, Falcons, 49ers?

This could be a boon for the teams holding rights in Europe, particularly the seven teams sharing the United Kingdom and the five working in Germany.

The American sports betting market has exploded in the five years since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act made legalization a state choice, but European markets are years ahead in terms of market saturation and mainstreaming. The implementation and regulation of sports betting in the United States has largely followed the example — good and bad — of those European predecessors.

Teams like the Falcons, Vikings, and 49ers, which are located in states without legal sports betting and have no official sports betting partners, would be free to explore how gambling partnerships could benefit them in an active and mature market.

UK, German Gambling Markets Might See NFL Interest Spike

A 2022 report from the European Betting & Gaming Commission put gambling revenue in the United Kingdom at nearly £16 billion (US$20.4 billion) in 2021. The Bears, Jaguars, Dolphins, Vikings, Jets, Steelers, and 49ers won’t be able to take advantage until 2024, however, as the rule doesn’t take effect in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand until then.

The rule change would take effect immediately in Germany, Mexico, Austria, Canada, France, Ghana, Spain, and Switzerland.

The NFL plays regular-season games in England, Germany, and Mexico.

NFL franchises are awarded access to international markets after submitting successful proposals to the NFL’s International Committee. Teams hold the rights to work in their awarded market for at least five years, and, according to an NFL release, “has the rights to pursue activities in that international market that are largely consistent with what they can do in their home market.”

The extent of legal gambling in those home markets does not impact those business opportunities abroad.

NFL Global Markets Program Roster