Lost in the bombast of the Raiders’ exit from Oakland is the not-so-subtle admission by the NFL that their opposition to gambling was always temporary
For decades, the NFL wanted nothing to do with Las Vegas. As the city boomed in the Nevada desert and other professional team sports at least dabbled with the idea of a Las Vegas franchise, the world’s most lucrative league stayed away. Even talking about Las Vegas meant opening the door to gambling – and the NFL wasn’t going down that alley.
But now that Nevada has $750m of public money to offer the Oakland Raiders for a gleaming new stadium, the NFL is embracing Sin City, even championing it. When the league’s owners approved the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas on Monday, their 31-1 vote was a formality. The NFL had already signaled their full acceptance of America’s gambling mecca.
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