The Poker Players Players Alliance is hoping Barney Frank from MA will submit a new bill to overturn the UIGEA. His plans are to make online gambling legal. The biggest opponent in this fight is the NFL. The NFL has hired lobbyists and don't want legalized online gambling, because they're afraid of any taint it might have on the sport. (Associated Press)
The NFL's argument that they're afraid of taint is ridiculous. One of the big reasons why the NFL is so popular is because of the wagering. Every NFL season there's an underground market of bookies that takes in billions of action. Making bets through illegal bookies is even the topic of a classic episode of the Simpsons.
Whenever the idea of taint comes up, allegations of rigging games follow. People over-estimate the sway the bookies have on NFL players. NFL players make millions of dollars in contract deals. There's just not way the bookies have enough money to pay off key players to throw the game. This might be different in smaller games with less action, but not the NFL. No player would be so stupid as to jeopardize their huge salary for what a bookie can offer.
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