NFL licenses brands for online mobile slots game for US$ 14 B

The NFL’s move to insert its logos into slot games would have not so long ago been completely unthinkable. But the 2018 Supreme Court ruling allowing legalized sports gambling nationwide unleashed sports leagues and teams into the betting world.

Sports business reporter Daniel Kaplan, in an item for AwfulAnnouncing.com, reports that the NFL has licensed its brands to Aristocrat Gaming for an online mobile slot machine game. Previously, the league licenses its brands to Aristocrat for physical slot machines.

It’s just the latest step in the NFL’s ongoing money grab, when it comes to gambling. And when it comes to digital games of chance, there’s no chance the house won’t win, over time.

That’s why the NFL has aligned with the house. That’s why the NFL allows its owners to own up to five percent of any given house. And that’s why the NFL will keep grabbing as much money as it can when it comes to gambling.

“There’s a big business if you can get people to buy the virtual currency to play the games,” said Dustin Gouker, a gambling consultant, who said these types of games are known as social casinos. “Online casinos are a very big business. But in the United States, it’s limited, far more limited than sports betting because it’s only in just over a handful of states. The big ones are Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia. So it’s a very big business in those states, especially, it usually outpaces sports betting.”

Licensing names and likenesses to slot machines is not uncommon outside of sports. Gouker points to TV shows like Wheel of Fortune and Seinfeld. But other than the NFL, Gouker is unaware of any other sports league to do so.