NFLPA voices concerns about sports betting

The Players Association has expressed its concerns about the ability of the authorities to protect sports integrity.

US.- Sports betting has already been launched in several states and will soon expand to others that are setting the last regulatory details but not everybody is happy with it. After a recent congressional hearing, the NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith expressed his concern about the ability of the american football league’s ability to protect sports integrity.

“After the league’s testimony [Thursday], I actually have more concerns about their ability to ensure the integrity of the game than ever,” Smith said in an interview with ESPN. The official for the organisation that advocates for NFL players’ rights assured that the league has not taken the steps he believes are needed to do so and pointed to league policies allowing team owners to have investments in bookmakers, plans to monetise game and player data without thorough discussions with all stakeholders, and even the NFL’s approach to fantasy football.

“If they’re not willing to work with the players as partners in this, my concern is that once the ‘integrity genie’ is out of the bottle it’s going to be impossible to get it back in,” Smith said as he explained their efforts to work with the NFL on sports integrity haven’t been heard.

Mr Smith’s concern was sparked after NFL vice president of communication and public affairs Jocelyn Moore spoke before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. She was asked about the potential ban on owners from having an interest in sports betting operators, to which she limited to respond the league has “a limitation” on personnel having investments in gambling operations.