NJ Regulator Bans Citrus Bowl Betting

Coaching and sportsbook marketing are incompatible.

Sportsbooks are active during college football bowl season and NFL playoffs. With all the wagering activity, state authorities, industry watchdogs, and the books must also watch for violations. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) bans Citrus Bowl betting on Friday due to Drew Brees’ behavior.

Brees played for Purdue, which plays LSU in the Citrus Bowl today in Orlando. The issue: Brees is a PointsBet pitchman and an interim assistant coach for his own mater’s bowl game.

The NJDGE halted new bets and nullified any bets placed after December 15, when Brees signed with Purdue. ESPN’s sources identified Brees as the “person linked with the Purdue Football team” in the NJDGE notice.

Coaches are barred from “any ownership interest in, control over, or otherwise be employed by an operator” under NJDGE legislation 5:12A-11 (f).

Brees was a brand advocate and owner of PointsBet. PointsBet dropped him a week after he joined Purdue to coach the Citrus Bowl.

PointsBet congratulated Drew Brees on his position as Purdue Boilermakers interim assistant coach. After thorough assessment, we have decided to cancel our ambassador engagement relationship with Drew. Our organization prioritizes regulatory and legal compliance, ethical gaming, and legal sports betting integrity, and this choice allows us to do so. We wish Drew well as he returns to his old mater.”

Short-term ambassadorship was fun.
Drew Brees has been involved in two minor PointsBet scandals. PointsBet used “mischief marketing” to make it appear that Brees was struck by lightning while filming an outdoor sportsbook promo.

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