Twenty years ago, the National Football League reportedly refused to take a Super Bowl advertisement promoting tourism to Las Vegas because it wanted to keep gambling at an arm’s length. On February 11, though, Super Bowl LVIII will take place at none other than Sin City. What gives?

The NFL’s showcase event transpiring at a city the league shunned for much of its existence is not so much ironic as it is inevitable, a product of lucrative partnerships that have triggered the explosion of sports gambling to cell phones from casinos. The league’s pioneering commissioner, Pete Rozelle, an inveterate foe of gambling, must be rolling over in his grave.

Rozelle, who reigned over football between 1969 and 1989, told Sports Illustrated in 1963 that professional football had become so popular that its success could only be threatened by gambling. To emphasize his point, that year he suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive lineman Alex Karras for betting on NFL games and associating with gamblers.

Rozelle’s successors, Paul Tagliabue and Roger Goodell, have taken steps to avoid ties to legalized gambling. In a deposition in 2012, Mr. Goodell opposed a more permissive betting law in New Jersey, opining that “it creates more gambling, it creates more gamblers, and it creates the more likelihood that people are going to perceive it as being an influence.” 

If those concerns haven’t been eliminated, they are overshadowed by the financial riches that the partnership between the NFL and Las Vegas has produced. The apex of that rapprochement is the Super Bowl set for a week from Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, just off the Las Vegas strip.

That’s where the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football Conference face the National Football Conference champion San Francisco 49ers for the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy. The league will essentially give the city two weeks of free advertising as it promotes a game that was watched by 115 million American viewers last year. No one is complaining.

“An event of this magnitude combined with the energy of Las Vegas is going to be unmatched,” the chief executive and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Steven Hill, predicted when the game’s site was announced. “Our entire city is committed to making Super Bowl LVIII the most electrifying sports spectacle ever.”

The most expensive, too. According to reports from various secondary markets, the early average ticket price is close to $11,000, the highest average ticket price for any title game aside from the Covid Super Bowl in 2021. Good luck finding a hotel, as rooms are running between $400 and $2,000 a night, according to Travelocity.

Forbes estimates that $16 billion was wagered on the Super Bowl last year when it was played in Arizona, the first state with legal sports betting. An estimated $153 million of those wagers were in Nevada. Expectations are those numbers will be exceeded due to the game being played at Las Vegas between two teams with extensive Super Bowl pedigrees and national followings. The 49ers are seeking their sixth Super Bowl title, while the Chiefs are hoping to win their fourth overall and third in the last four years.

The 49ers are 1.5 to 2.5 point favorites on most sports books. In April 2021, the league partnered with FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesar’s to make them the initial official betting partners of the NFL. The league reportedly received $1 billion in the deals. Four months later, FOX Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, and WynnBET also became “approved” Sportsbook Operators.

To protect the integrity of the Super Bowl, the NFL tightened its gambling policy for participating players. The Chiefs and 49ers are not allowed to gamble at all while in Las Vegas, even on casino games or other sports. Even players who are not dressing for the game — like practice squad or injured players — can’t bet on the game or stop by a sports book. 

Normally, players are allowed to gamble in casinos and bet legally on sports other than the NFL. Any player caught betting on the NFL is automatically suspended for one year. If a player is caught betting on his team, he is suspended for two years. Players are also prohibited from placing bets from their workplace. As of this summer, 10 players have been suspended for betting on NFL games.

To reduce temptation, Kansas City will stay at the Westin Lake Vegas and San Francisco at the Hilton Lake Vegas. Both hotels are about 25 miles from the strip. The teams are scheduled to arrive on Monday. For those weighing a wager, the 49ers are 0-2 against the spread in the postseason, while the Chiefs are 3-0.

Las Vegas first became a home for professional sports in 2017 when the National Hockey League awarded the city an expansion franchise. That team, The Golden Knights, won the Stanley Cup last year. The Oakland Raiders became the Las Vegas Raiders when the NFL team moved to Nevada in 2020, and the Oakland A’s are moving their major league baseball team to Las Vegas in 2028.