NFL to reinforce its gambling policy to players - ESPN

The NFL is redoubling its efforts to reinforce the league's gambling policy to players in the wake of a rash of recent violations.

All rookies will now be required to attend mandatory education sessions and a group of league officials is making in-person visits to team facilities to emphasize and clarify what activities are prohibited amid the rapid proliferation of sports gambling.

The six «key rules» of the gambling policy that the league officials will emphasize are:

Don't bet on the NFL;

Don't gamble at your team facility, while traveling for a road game, or staying at a team hotel;

Don't have someone bet for you;

Don't share team «inside information»;

Don't enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season;

Don't play daily fantasy football.

«The world has changed over the last few years,» Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy said in a media availability Tuesday. "… The availability of our phones and [with] a couple of touches, and all of a sudden, you can place a bet on many different things was not available a few years ago and is available now.

«So, sports gambling has a great deal more presence in people's lives than it did just a few short years ago, which means for us as [a] sports league — where integrity of the game is the highest single principle — that we have to be thoughtful and careful and scrutinize how we share information and educate people around the rules that govern it.»

The mere decision to schedule the session with reporters is itself noteworthy and can be seen as a reaction to recent events. Five NFL players were suspended in decisions handed down in April.

And this month, an investigation focused on Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers