The National Football League has always had a complicated relationship to gambling. Many of us love to bet on football – it’s both exciting and fun. The problem is that it’s illegal in most of the US except Las Vegas. But with the constantly rising popularity of gambling online, the thrill of betting on NFL games has become available for people both in the US and elsewhere.

The thing is that the NFL doesn’t want to acknowledge this fact. The NFL has a policy that prohibits gambling related advertisements during televised games, completely ignoring the fact that many fans also likes gambling. This was made really clear when the NFL denied the city of Las Vegas to run an ad during Super Bowl a few years ago. The ad wasn’t really about gambling, but about Las Vegas as a tourist town and had already been broadcasted on several American networks. But the NFL sticks the head in the sand completely ignoring that many people are drawn to football because they can bet on the games.

Luckily this is no big issue. Gamblers from all over the world bet on football online. There is tons of gambling news and sports betting tips available on the Internet which makes it easy to get solid information before placing a wager. So sure, the NFL stance on gambling can be said to be problematic, but it doesn’t really effect the actual gambling. People in the US who want to gamble, whether it means betting on sports or playing online blackjack are, only a click away once they turn on the computer. The question isn’t if but when NFL will embrace this fact. The NFL can definitely thank gambling for much of the interest for the game.