At the request of the NFL, Illinois has banned certain bets on professional football games that are feared to be too liable to manipulation by any one player, coach or referee.
First plays, replay results, and whether a kicker will miss a field goal or extra point are among 11 prohibited bets under the new policy, to avoid potential “serious risk” to the integrity of sports gambling.
The Illinois Gaming Board took the action Thursday in response to a request by the NFL to prohibit betting on events considered objectionable or “100% determinable by one person in one play.”
Other forbidden bets include those involving fan safety, player misconduct, penalties, officiating assignments, roster or personnel decisions, and whether a quarterback’s first pass of a game will be incomplete.
“Pre-determined choices and actions within the control of individual players, coaches or league officials are susceptible to abuse and manipulation,” gaming board Administrator Marcus Fruchter wrote.
NFL Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs Jonathan Nabavi requested the ban earlier this month, saying numerous other states, including Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, have already taken such action.
The bets on injuries, fan safety, and misconduct are derogatory or inflammatory, Nabavi wrote in his request to the board. The first play of the game and personnel decisions could be knowable before the game. Such wagers are “more susceptible to manipulation,” Nabavi wrote, because one person could control the outcome.
Sports gambling businesses that violate the rules are subject to having their license revoked.