NFL Assails D.C. Plan for Sports Lottery : Football: The league is considering suing the city to stop the game, which has been given tentative approval.

The NFL criticized a planned sports lottery today that would allow District of Columbia residents to bet on their pro teams and said it would consider suing the city to stop it.

“With increased betting on sports, the nature of fans would change and they would become more concerned about winning bets than seeing their team win a game,” NFL spokesman Joe Browne said.

The city’s Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board tentatively approved the plan Wednesday. Before the lottery can start, however, it must be approved by city lawyers and passed again by the lottery board.

The lottery would be the first in the nation allowing residents to bet on their local pro teams. The NFL Redskins, NBA Bullets, NHL Capitals and baseball’s Baltimore Orioles would be in the district’s lottery.

Oregon has a sports lottery, but the state has no NFL or major-league baseball team and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers aren’t included in the game. Despite the exemption, the NBA is suing to halt the lottery because it opposes betting on league games.

The NFL says such legalized gambling would make it easier to fix games, unlawfully makes money from their private enterprise and could turn fans against their home teams.

For example, Browne said, Redskins fans may jeer the team if it tries to protect a three-point lead in a game where the Redskins are favored by four points.

“We don’t want to create a situation where people are more concerned about how much a team wins by rather than if they win,” he said.

Abe Pollin, owner of the Capitals and Bullets, called the proposed lottery a “horrible” idea and said he would work to stop it.

“It sends a terrible, terrible signal to people involved in sports,” Pollin said. “We’re trying to teach our young people to lead very straight lives and then this sort of thing comes along.”

Under the district’s proposed game, points spreads would be used and prizes would range from $1 to $4,000, depending on the number of selections and correct picks.