The last couple of years has seen some of the biggest names in the sports betting world come together to form an organization known as the “NFL betting conspiracy”. The conspiracy aims to promote betting on the NFL, in particular the Super Bowl, but also the regular season and other events taking place during the year. They want to get rid of the stigma that surrounds gambling and sports in general.
While not all the members of the conspiracy are billionaires, or even millionaires, there’s no denying that the majority of them are. The main investors in the conspiracy are billionaires William “Bill” Harrah and Seth Klarman. The first contributed $100 million to the endeavor while the latter put in $50 million of his own money.
Klarman and Harrah are known for being major gamblers and for backing a lot of high-stake gambling ventures. Both men know a thing or two about betting and what makes a good bet. One of the main focuses of the conspiracy is getting illegal bookmakers out of the sports betting market and making sure that legal bookmakers are aware of all the odds the market is currently offering.
Breaking Taboos
Let’s face it, in today’s world, sports betting and major gambling are very much a “taboo” topic. It is highly unlikely that anyone involved in sports betting or major gambling will admit to it, much less discuss it. This is especially true about the NFL, where scandals involving players and coaches are commonplace. You’d think that with so much bad blood between the League and the bookmakers, there’d be no chance of collusion.
That’s not the case though. It started with the “Bounty Gate” scandal, where New York Jets coach Rex Ryan was accused of offering a $100,000 bounty on the head of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The case was eventually settled and Ryan was suspended for three games. After the bounty scandal, a lot of people were afraid to put down any kind of large wager on the NFL.
Then there was the case of Nevada football coach [Noah Spence], who was accused of throwing a recruit’s National Letter of Intent (NLI) into the toilet. Later, it came to light that Spence had done this to punish the recruit for not wanting to play for the school. The situation ended with Spence receiving a two-year show-cause penalty and the NCAA banning him from coaching in the NCAA. It was a major blow to the Nevada football program, which had won four straight national championships prior to Spence’s coaching tenure.
Spence isn’t the only person to use the toilet for some private purposes either. There are currently five players who were either sexually assaulted or had an affair with a teammate’s wife while playing for the New England Patriots. Four of those players— [Aaron Hernandez], [Patriots coach Bill Belichick], [Tom Brady], and [Stephon Gilmore]—were found guilty and later sentenced to prison. The fifth, [Derrick Kelly], was acquitted at trial. While this all might make for great tabloid fodder, it also shows that NFL players are often willing to do or say anything to succeed in the league.
More Than Meets The Eye
There’s more going on behind the scenes in the NFL betting conspiracy than meets the eye. The group has one goal in mind: to make legal bookmakers pay attention to the NFL and the various games and odds it offers. The NFL is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world, and currently offers some of the biggest profits in sports betting. The league is also one of the most heavily policed sports leagues as well. There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.