Also included in the updated policy is a graduating set of penalties for betting on non-NFL sports and other events in the workplace. For a first violation, the penalty is now a two-game suspension without pay. Second and third violations of that rule will result in a six-game unpaid suspension and a yearlong unpaid ban, respectively.
Friday's news dump is another sign of the evolving attitude toward sports betting by the NFL. The league once opposed expanding legal sports wagering in the U.S., but now it and its teams are partners with sportsbook operators that players can access in the palm of their hand from almost anywhere.. Now, though, the updated gambling policy provides flexibility while also stressing that the integrity of games is of the utmost importance.