NFL TEAMS GO FOR SCRATCHCARD BETTING

One of online gambling's biggest opponents, the US National Football League, says it wants to keep betting out of the game to preserve its integrity, yet it has embraced the revenue-earning possibilities for its premier teams of betting on lottery scratch-cards.
 
The latest top American football team to lend its brand to scratchcard betting is the Dallas Cowboys in a deal with the Texas Lottery Commission announced Monday.  The announcement revealed that the lottery will start a Dallas Cowboys scratch-off game August 17. The $5 tickets will have cash prizes of up to $100 000 as well as chances to win packages that include a stadium suite, private tours, and airfare and tickets to an away game.
 
National Football League officials have confirmed over a dozen other teams have signed or have started negotiating similar lottery deals since a ban on is form of betting was selectively ended in May this year. 

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"We've been examining this category carefully over the past few years," said Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman. "We've become increasingly comfortable in easing our restrictions."
 
The rationale applied is that since lottery tickets are based on chance and not the performance of athletes, the lottery partnerships are in order.
 
"We still maintain our strict restrictions on affiliations with gambling that's based on the outcome of NFL games," McCarthy said. "It [a lottery] has nothing to do with what takes place on the field."
 
The NFL, the NCAA and other large sports leagues are currently suing to prevent the state of Delaware from allowing betting on individual sporting events (see previous InfoPowa reports), and the League's vehement opposition to online gambling is well known.
 
Also announcing a partnership on scratchcards, New York Football Giants, Inc. and the Connecticut Lottery Corporation have entered into a licensing agreement that will launch a Giants-branded scratch ticket game across the state of Connecticut this fall.
 
“Connecticut is Giants territory,” said Anne M. Noble, CT Lottery President and CEO, “and we are very excited to kick off our fall season of sales with a blockbuster partner like the New York Giants.  Brand recognition for the Giants is tremendous, and we expect the game to be a sellout success.”
 
CT Lottery will use the New York Giants logo to promote a new $5 scratch off game, whose August 26 launch will coincide with the upcoming 2009 NFL season. 
 
“The Giants are proud to partner with the CT Lottery and bring an exciting, new Giants-branded lottery game to Giants fans across The Constitution State,” said Giants Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Stevens.  “The Giants view Connecticut as an important part of our home tri-state market, and we appreciate the devoted and loyal support we receive from Giants fans throughout the state.”
 
On the New York Giants scratch game ticket, players will be able to win $4 million in cash prizes, including four top prizes of $50 000 each.  Non-winning tickets can be returned to the CT Lottery for inclusion in a series of second-chance drawings to win a wide array of New York Giants experiential and merchandise prizes such as tickets to Giants home games, trips to Giants road games, VIP access at Giants Training Camp and authentic Giants helmets and game jerseys.