The NFL has suspended Josh Shaw, a defensive back of the Arizona Cardinals, for gambling on ‘multiple NFL games ’this year.
The suspension of 27-year-old Shaw, who has been sidelined with an injury all year, was announced Friday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the suspension will run through to the end of the 2020 season, but added that Shaw would be able to appeal the sentence.
Not announced, but leaked to ESPN was an NFL directive to all NFL clubs. It said any betting by players, coaches, managers and other personnel would not be tolerated by the League
The directive read: “All NFL personnel are strictly prohibited from placing, soliciting or facilitating any bet whether directly or indirectly through a 3rd party”.
The ruling would apply, it said, to “any NFL game, practice or other event. This includes betting on game outcomes, statistics, scores, or performance of any individual participant.”
It would also apply to, “any other kind of ‘proposition’ bet on which wagering is offered
Thirteen states now have sports betting
Until the Supreme Court lifted a long-running prohibition in May last year sports betting outside of Nevada was illegal in the US. However, since then 13 states led by the dynamic New Jersey sports betting industry have launched sportsbooks.
Six more with DC have passed legislation to legitimize sports wagering but are still in the process of implementing it. They are New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Montana, and Colorado.
The NFL initially fought tooth and nail against New Jersey’s court bid to have the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act struck down. They did so, they said, on the grounds that sports betting could compromise the integrity of its games.
The New Jersey sports betting backers won their case on constitutional grounds. Since then the NFL and its teams have slowly begun embracing sports betting. Some have even been signing marketing deals with wagering operators.
One of the reasons for this is that the sportsbooks have been cooperating with the NFL to prevent player betting. It has also helped that they have put the brakes on the long- established practice of illegal offshore betting.
Sports team owners investing in the betting business
Some billionaire sports team owners have also been getting into the business. They are not doing it directly by playing the betting game. They have instead been buying equity in companies “generating less than a third of its revenue from gambling-related operations.”
Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross is the latest NFL franchisee to invest in sports betting. It was disclosed last week that his RSE Ventures made an investment in the latest $17.5 million fundraising round for the sports betting startup, Action Network.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, meantime, was one of the early investors in DraftKings when it was still only a daily fantasy sports provider.
Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones has also invested in DraftKings. He did it through Legends, a sports hospitality company he co-founded with the late New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner.
NEWS FLASH!
Just in is the news that Josh Shaw has filed an appeal of his indefinite suspension by the NFL.
His suspension is set to cover at least the full 2020 season. He will then be eligible to file for re-instatement from February 15, 2021 pending the results of an appeal.
ESPN’s David Purdum reported that Shaw was in Las Vegas on November 10 and placed a three-team parlay bet. It included the Cardinals’ Week 10 match against Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He bet against Arizona, wagering that the Buccaneers would cover the second-half spread.
He registered to bet in his name and stated he was an NFL footballer
The Caesars Entertainment sportsbook contacted the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the NFL on discovering Shaw was betting on NFL games.