Everyone was expecting this. Finally, it came through. Now, the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has intervened directly. The league is working with state leaders, regulators, and betting companies to tighten rules on prop bets. These talks started because of the NBA betting scandal, and Goodell is coming up with a reminder.

The league sent a memo to all 32 teams to remind them which prop bets are not allowed. The NFL said it wants to limit or stop bets that involve injuries, officiating, fan safety, single-player actions, or any outcome that is already known. These rules are not new. A league source said they existed before the recent problems in other sports. The memo listed examples of banned bets, like betting on whether a kicker will miss a field goal, whether a quarterback will start, or whether the first play will be a run or pass.

In the new memo, the league told all staff to follow simple rules. Do not bet on the NFL, do not let friends or family bet for you, do not gamble at team facilities or while traveling, do not share inside information, and do not enter a sportsbook during the season.

However, there could be more steps. The memo did not say if more bets could be banned in the future. It also did not say what new rules the league might make to tackle the issue.

Football is the biggest betting sport in the U.S. Roger Goodell got an update from the American Gaming Association that fans would bet around $30 billion on the NFL this season. At Super Bowl LVIII two years ago, 68 million Americans bet $23.1 billion.

The NFL commissioner isn’t the only one worried. Even the Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, warned players to stay away from it.

Roger Goodell’s steps will help keep players away from scandals

“The NFL and the NFLPA kind of tell us all the different rules that you can and can’t do. I just stay away from it, just ’cause I don’t want to put myself in that position. Your life’s so great, why mess with it?” Mahomes said. “More than anything to me, it gets weird sometimes when you have fans talking about it, just ’cause, like, you’re just trying to go out there and live your life and play the game, and sometimes they get really attached to them even more than, like, the regular fan because they have money on the line.”

Fantasy sports and prop bets make fans emotional. Losing a bet is one thing. But fans would feel betrayed if players ever faked injuries or tried to lose games on purpose. Since NFL players already earn strong salaries, Mahomes thinks avoiding gambling is the smart move.

Still, players say betting has made fans more angry. Giants kicker Graham Gano said fans send him threats when they lose money on his kicks. He said this has been happening since sports betting became common. Gano shared that some fans tell him to “kill himself” or even wish he gets a serious disease when a kick costs them money.

“I mean, shoot, ever since sports betting started happening, I get people telling me to kill myself every week. Because I’ll hit a kick that loses them money. I’ll miss a kick, and it loses them money. It was the other day, somebody told me to get cancer and die.”

That is the kind of trouble any player never wants the NFL to face.

The NBA case shows why. The investigation revealed two major issues. Insider information and player collusion! The case also includes charges tied to rigged poker games. Robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal gambling. Authorities say the scheme took about $7 million from victims, including $1.8 million from one fan.

For Roger Goodell, protecting the sport’s reputation is a $30 billion imperative.