non-profit organisations have requested for the National Football League (NFL) to discontinue marketing a fantasy game with cash prizes to kids, because of the possibility it could nurture gambling addiction from a young age.

In a letter sent to the NFL, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, to stop pushing the Rush Fantasy programme to children.

The programme conducts fantasy games over the course of an NFL season. it offers weekly prizes to winners such as game consoles, as well as a grand prize of a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the Pro Bowl.

In the letter sent to the NFL, both parties explained that “there is evidence that playing fantasy sports can lead to gambling addiction”.

The letters also states that the groups found it disturbing that the NFL would encourage children as young as six-years-old to participate in gambling.

This is not been the first case where the NFL has received stern words in relation to its message to children. In January last year the CCFC published a separate report entitled: “Out Of Bounds: The NFL’s Intensive Campaign to Target Children”.