Why the NFL needs a gambling czar as the league enters uncharted betting waters I You Pod To Win The Game

Yahoo Sports' Charles McDonald and Charles Robinson discuss the prevalence of sports betting among active NFL players and propose that the league install a gambling czar to maintain the integrity of the game to bolster consumer trust. Hear the full conversation on You Pod To Win The Game. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.

Video transcript

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CHARLES ROBINSON: I'm sure it's way more prevalent than many of us might have realized, and I guarantee you that the Lions aren't the only team-- I would almost think almost every franchise has probably had players, at the very least, gamble on, like, college games. Right?

I really, truly believe they need to hire a VP of just strictly for the gambling thing. That person's job is to investigate whether or not players are gambling on football. Like, I feel like we're already there. It feels like a lot of these violations have been the casinos-- their partners-- basically tipping them off to, which I'm sure is part of the agreement. Hey, if we're doing all these deals with you and we're welcoming gambling into our spaces, that being the NFL, you have to let us know when we have a problem with a player placing bets.

I don't side with anybody that says it's so unfair that the NFL can make money but then players can't go out gamble on football games. You can go and gamble. Just don't gamble on [BLEEP] football.

CHARLES MCDONALD: There has to be a line of demarcation where you cannot have guys gambling on the game. And it's not just the players, it's the coaches. I think it has to extend to like everyone who's involved. Because it's easy to see how something can fall down the chain real quick and you have an issue where people don't trust the integrity of your game anymore.

CHARLES ROBINSON: Right.

CHARLES MCDONALD: Like, that has to be-- it's arguably, like, the most important thing, as far as just the product itself is concerned.