The National Football League (NFL) has long opposed allowing sports betting to gain more of a foothold in the United States than it already has.

But surprisingly, the NFL has made arguments over the last 12 years that any sports bettor would find encouraging: namely, that betting on sports is an enterprise that takes skill.

According to a report from ESPN, both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the NFL have made statements during legal proceedings that say that sports betting is a skill-based activity.

NFL outside counsel made that argument in 2003, while in 2013, then US Attorney Loretta Lynch (who is now the US Attorney General) made a similar statement on behalf of the Justice Department.

In 2003, the NFL was among several groups attempting to prevent the state of Delaware from bringing back a football-based lottery game.

While Delaware does not allow betting on individual games, the state’s three casinos can now offer parlay betting during the NFL season.

The NFL hired the law firm of Covington & Burling to argue against allowing such bets.