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Sports gambling: NFL commissioner calls for congressional action

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas.

A week after the Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting wagering on sports, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued "four core principles" the league would like to see addressed by Congress.

Goodell outlined the principles in a statement Monday:

  1. There must be substantial consumer protections; 
  2. Sports leagues can protect our content and intellectual property from those who attempt to steal or misuse it; 
  3. Fans will have access to official, reliable league data;
  4. Law enforcement will have the resources, monitoring and enforcement tools necessary to protect our fans and penalize bad actors here at home and abroad.


Additionally, Goodell said the league has "spent considerable time planning for the potential of broadly legalized sports gambling" and is prepared to address changes "in a thoughtful and comprehensive way."

Whether or not lawmakers take these thoughts into advisement remains to be seen, though the first and last seem like common sense suggestions while two and three are more the responsibility of the league.

The Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 vote last week that, in 1992, Congress lacked the authority to pass the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The New York Post reported. The act banned states that did not already allow legal sports betting from sanctioning it.

The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.