NFL could land $2.3bn increase with regulated sports betting

In research commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA), Nielsen Sports has predicted that the annual revenue of the NFL could be elevated by as much as $2.3bn as a result of the regulated sports betting market.

The study, which breaks down the various sources of revenue that the NFL could reap from a sports betting market in the US that’s widely available, took into account various factors partnerships, data and sponsorship, as well as revenue generated as a result of increased consumption of the league’s media and purchasing of products.

Sara Slane, the senior vice president of public affairs for the AGA stated: “So much time has been spent on talk over integrity fees. We think these numbers are conservative and show that the league is frankly tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.”

According to Nielsen Sports, greater fan engagement and viewership is likely to lead to the NFL’s total annual revenue from media rights, sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales rising significantly by 13.4% to $1.75bn.

Additionally, the report has also detailed that legal sports betting could help the NFL generate an additional $573m in revenue because of spending by betting operators and data providers.

To quantify the value of a legal sports betting market to the NFL, Nielsen Sports surveyed more than 1,000 adult sports fans – including NFL fans – and self-identified sports bettors nationwide to model how a national, legal sports betting market would affect the sports consumption habits of non-bettors, casual bettors and avid bettors, and how this change in consumption would translate to increased revenue.