Gone are the days when sports and betting were kept at arm's length, especially with the NFL cozying up to the likes of DraftKings, flipping the script on its past 'keep off the grass' stance.

Last night, the gridiron gang was back at it—another NFL season kick-started, prepping for a Sunday filled with the clash of helmets and the roar of the crowd. And you bet, companies like DraftKings are over the moon about it.

""FOOTBALL IS BACK,"" was the shout-out from DraftKings on Twitter, boasting about their shiny new collab with the NFL. They've even got a $1 million sweepstakes that's up for grabs just for downloading their app. DraftKings ain't no small fry—they're a big shot in the fantasy sports and online betting scene check out this site, and they're not shy about making moves, like their plan to snatch up Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc. for a cool $1.6 billion.

But this DraftKings and NFL deal? It's a whole new ball game. It throws DraftKings into the big leagues, piggybacking on the NFL's monster money-making machine. We're talking more betting action right on your TV, your phone, even at the stadium. That's a wild pivot from the NFL's long-standing 'no-go' zone around mixing betting with the sport.

With the NFL now playing footsie with DraftKings and a few other gambling hotshots, it's a moment to take a step back and see how sports betting is blitzing through our living rooms, phones, and minds as football takes center stage cbc.

DraftKings, rubbing shoulders with Caesars Entertainment and FanDuel, is getting the green light to pepper their apps and casinos with NFL game highlights. They're even allowed to flash their betting lines on NFL's own media outlets. And there's more—the NFL's given the thumbs up to four other betting ventures to hawk ads during the games.

All this action is putting betting—addictive and tempting—in the face of kids, teens, and college students, making it a main attraction in sports culture. It's got me worried, especially for the young guys who might get caught up in it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this could lead to some serious social hiccups and more chances for corruption. And let's not kid ourselves, the oversight on this? It's probably going to be pretty lax and a state-by-state affair cnn.

Back in 2015, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was like, ""We're not fans of legal sports gambling, and don't hold your breath for us to flip-flop on that."" He was all about keeping the game's integrity in the clear.

So what's with the about-face? Money talks, folks. The NFL's seen dollar signs—projecting a sweet $270 million this year from new gambling deals, with the potential to score $1 billion by the decade's end. Sports betting got a major league boost from a 2018 Supreme Court ruling and the Covid-19 lockdown had folks itching for some action from their couches.

Over at Goldman Sachs, analysts are laying down bets that online sports betting could skyrocket to around $39 billion by 2033. That's a mega-jump from today's $900 million. And with TV cord-cutting and streaming making it tough to win over the young crowd, betting might just be the golden ticket since it hooks a younger audience than your typical casino scene.

The Goldman analyst is throwing around the idea that we could see 50 million Americans laying down bets on sports down the line. Industry bigwigs, like maybe DraftKings, could be ruling over apps reaching 15 million folks—that's like everyone tuning into a Sunday NFL showdown. But we're talking digital bookies who could totally sidestep traditional media channels.

Investors are all in, pumping up the value of digital gambling companies. DraftKings' worth, a mere $2 billion in 2019, has ballooned to about $25.6 billion. Penn National Gaming, which dove into online sports betting, saw its market value leap from $2.9 billion in 2019 to $13.2 billion. Even Flutter's valuation has soared from 7.2 billion pounds to a whopping 25.4 billion pounds bbc.

Yeah, there are still kinks to iron out. Some DraftKings app users are grumbling about slow payouts on their wins. The customer service gets some shade, and there's chatter about odds not always being fair. DraftKings tries to keep it cool, addressing complaints and even offering up a hotline for peeps who might be losing their grip on their gambling.

With the NFL season in full swing and the business of betting booming, that hotline might just be ringing off the hook.