'A brave new world': How and when the NFL changed its mind on gambling and Las Vegas

Imagine a world where a broadcaster is actually reluctant to mention the point spread of a football game during the telecast for fear of getting his hand slapped by the league office.

It’s hard to remember that recent past because the has changed its stance on gambling so much in recent years. Now, NBC’s Al Michaels might anger NFL owners and commissioner Roger Goodell if he doesn’t mention the spread, the over/under and the futures odds as well.

“We’re in a brave new world of sorts,” Michaels said in a conference call last week. “I’ve always had fun … by being the guy who could play a little bit of the rascal role because the perception of the fan was that the league didn’t want any references to gambling.”

Michaels would make subtle hints about the odds after key plays late in games, but there is no reason for him to come in through the back door anymore.

“Now I guess they’re allowing me to come in the front door, which is not as much fun as kind of doing it subtly,” Michaels said.

There is nothing subtle about the $270 million that the NFL expects to generate in revenue from sports betting and gambling deals this year, . And that’s just the beginning.

“You can definitely see the market growing to $1 billion-plus of league opportunity over this decade,” Christopher Halpin, the NFL’s executive vice president and chief strategy and growth officer, told the Post.

The NFL and Goodell love gambling now. This, a league that, along with the