A professional sports league is only as strong as its integrity, and the NFL has made major strides in ensuring bettors are placed with legitimate operators. Its efforts include collaborating with regulators, sportsbooks and independent integrity monitors to create a network that can quickly catch offenders. It also has a dedicated security team that investigates possible betting fraud. It’s not surprising that the NFL has seen a decline in fraudulent bets, with only about 1% of all bets being placed by people who don’t meet its minimum requirements for betting eligibility.

Official betting includes wagers based on the game outcome and player prop bets. It does not include Super Bowl squares, NCAA tournament brackets or fantasy sports, as those are legal under the players’ contract. Nevertheless, the NFL is not happy with the growth of these types of bets. It has pushed back against their expansion, and it continues to work with state legislatures to limit the types of bets that can be placed on its games.

Colorado voters approved sports betting in 2019, and online and mobile betting launched on May 1, 2020. BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and BetRivers all partnered with the state to offer legal sports gambling. In-person and online sports betting rolled out in Kentucky in 2023, with Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers all offering their services. Lastly, the state of Ohio legalized sports betting in December 2021 and launched on January 1, 2023 with the first sportsbooks to open.