The NFL is tightly controlling how its own sportsbook partners can advertise during its games this season.
The league confirmed to LSR that its three official sports betting partners are prohibited from running general, brand-awareness ads during NFL games. Partners can only promote one specific approved product, and must have all spots cleared by the league before airing.
“They are well aware,” NFL director of communications Tim Schlittner told LSR regarding guidelines being passed down to sportsbook partners. “We are in constant dialogue with our partners. In-game advertisements must be cleared.”
Gambling Insider first reported the NFL’s ban on prediction market advertisements, which extends to in-stadium signage, club sponsorships, and player endorsements.
All three partners have prediction markets
The NFL announced that DraftKings and FanDuel were returning as partners while striking a new dealwith Fanatics.
Of course, each partner operates its own predictions product as well:
The restriction means the NFL partnership does not translate into additional exposure for the national access all three want to achieve on federally regulated platforms. Both traditional sportsbooks and prediction markets alike are taking big swings for new users at the beginning of the football season.
NFL waiting on predictions partner
The NFL has not taken the leap to partner with a prediction market platform, unlike the MLB, which partnered with Polymarket in March.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said that “stronger regulations” need to be put in place to protect the integrity of the game. The NFL sent two letters to prediction markets urging them to drop “objectionable” markets tied to games.
Goodell has maintained a dialogue with operators calling them “potential partners.” But the league is not in a rush.
“We don’t feel like we have to be first in this,” Goodell told CNBC. “We feel like we’re going to be right, and the best thing to do is be patient.”
