The report, released Wednesday, was commissioned by the American Gaming Association, the trade group that represents the gambling business.

The projections are based on a survey of fans. It assumes that regulated betting across America will boost media rights fees due to increased interest in the game, sponsorship by betting operators of teams and ancillary advertising, as well as the purchasing of official data from the league.

A nationwide, legal sports betting product available to all would affect annual media rights fees by nearly 18 percent, sponsorship by more than 7 percent and ticket sales by more than 6 percent.

“So much time has been spent on talk over integrity fees,” said Sara Slane, the senior vice president of public affairs for the AGA. “We think these numbers are conservative and show that the league is frankly tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.”

Since the Supreme Court nullified the Professional and Amateur Sports Act of 1992, which then allowed states to make their own sports gambling decisions, four states have opened up to sports gambling: Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia and Mississippi.

Only a matter of time. The NFL wants increased revenue, and this will be one way to squeeze as much out of their product as possible. When it comes the NFL, it’s all about the money. 

In other news, none of it will probably go to past or present players, just a hunch.