NFL: Gambling Bad, Lottery Good

Let's get something perfectly straight here:  State lotteries are a form of gambling. 

The NFL has made it clear they want no part of any gambling activity associated with the game.  They've gone after online sports betting and now the NFL is attempting to squash efforts by the state of Delaware to offer betting on football and other sports.

How odd it is that NFL franchises are now lending their names to lottery scratchcards. 

The New Orleans Saints are the latest team to do so.  Louisiana, ironically enough, has been among the most vocal states against online gambling.  They issued arrest warrants against a number of i-Gaming executives, including Sportingbet Chairman Peter Dicks, who was detained at JFK Airport in 2006 and later released after the state of New York refused to extradite him to Louisiana. 

Five NFL teams, including the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, have now taken advantage of the new rules allowing teams to use their logos on instant ticket scratchcards ahead of the upcoming 2009 season.

Lottery winners will receive anything from "highly prized" game tickets to signed memorabilia to a possible top prize of $100,000.  With a waiting list of over 50,000, the odds are somewhere around 50000/1 of actually winning anything. 

"We look forward to working with the Louisiana Lottery to bring this new co-branded game to our fans and Lottery players," said owner and Executive Vice President, Rita Benson LeBlanc. "This partnership will generate both excitement and revenue for important state programs funded through the Louisiana Lottery every year."