Mike Florio slams anonymous NFL player who lost $8M last year due to gambling -“The house always wins”

The NFL clearly has a gambling issue and the details surrounding the issue appear to be getting even worse than anyone could have imagined. In just the last year, the revelation of players gambling on games has gained traction.

On Wednesday morning, Mike Florio of "Pro Football Talk" reported that a league source said that one player lost $8 million gambling in the 2022 NFL season.

Florio said that the issue with gambling is that "the house always wins"' and high rollers will always eventually lose.

"Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, one NFL player lost $8 million last through gambling in 2022… The reality is that the house ALWAYS wins, over the long haul.

"The house hopes that you become sufficiently emboldened by short-term success to believe that you’ve stumbled onto a system, or something. That you’re going to keep winning and winning and winning. You won’t. You’ll lose. They win. You lose."

This is how the sports gambling industry has continued to grow over recent years. Even when gamblers win and win often, it will also eventually fall in the house's favor when the gambler loses big.

While the identity of the player is unknown, that is a substantial amount of money to lose. Especially considering they likely are one of the players who was caught and then suspended, preventing them from earning any money in the near future.

Would the NFL ban players from all forms of sports gambling?

The NFL has already punished a handful of players this offseason and sources inside the league say that the investigation into gambling isn't over.

The league's rules currently prohibit players from gambling on games in the National Football League. But, the rules do not prohibit players from gambling on other professional sports. Would the National Football League ever consider a complete ban on sports gambling?

The answer is no. As Mike Florio mentioned, it would be bad for business if the National Football League decided to ban all sports gambling. As of right now, the league makes millions from its partnerships with Caesar's SportsBook, as well as DraftKings and FanDuel.

"So, again, why let the players wager on sports during their NFL careers? The Commissioner giveth, and the Commissioner can taketh away. The problem is that, if the rule were to change to prohibit all forms of sports betting by players, he’d be taking away plenty of money from the sports book partners that give plenty of money to the NFL." - Mike Florio

The league's zero-tolerance policy for gambling and the suspensions and other punishment could be a wake-up call for other players in the future. We will see if that is the case, or if more stringent steps will have to be considered in the future.