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- Mar 20, 2019
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As the NFL inches away from its longstanding opposition to gambling and toward a full-on embrace, a small step is being taken on preseason broadcasts in Washington.
For Washington’s four preseason games, viewers watching NBC Sports Washington Plus will be able to enter a contest where they predict aspects of the game like who will have the most rushing yards in the first quarter, with $1,000 cash going to the winner.
This is not gambling because it’s free to enter the contest. But it’s giving fans a taste for making money by predicting what’s going to happen, and it’s easy to see this as a step toward live, in-game gambling being embraced as part of NFL game broadcasts.
“We want casual fans to be more involved in the broadcast,” NBC Sports Washington Senior VP & GM Damon Phillips told Sports Business Daily. “When they are more involved, they stay longer.”
A new game will start each quarter, as fans are often more engaged if they have a chance of winning soon, rather than waiting until the end of the game.
“We learned that instant gratification for viewers is important,” Phillips said.
Viewers watching on NBC Sports Washington Plus will see graphics related to the “Predict the Game” contest, while those watching on the over-the-air NBC affiliate will not. So most viewers won’t be aware of this new development, but the NFL may soon find that it’s just the kind of thing that keeps fans engaged with the preseason.