*By Justin Chermol* The owners at Buffalo Wild Wings may have found a way to boost the sales of chicken wings and beer during the upcoming football season by having a legal sports book in its restaurants. Jon Taffer, the host of "Bar Rescue" on Paramount Network, said the introduction of legal sports betting could save the food and beverage service industry ー and hike ever-plummeting NFL viewership. "The fringe fans that sort of like football will bet two dollars. Suddenly, they're involved," Taffer said Friday in an interview on Cheddar. "It's an opportunity to involve fans more, but also pull in fringe fans through what I am going to call nominal betting." Taffer, a consultant for struggling bars and restaurants, said younger fans are often more frugal and, generally speaking, choose to stay home. Overall, viewership of live sports is down. The NFL, which continually ranks as the most viewed sport in the United States, posted a [10 percent decline in viewership](https://www.si.com/tech-media/2018/01/04/nfl-tv-ratings-decline-ten-percent-colin-kaepernick-thursday-night-football) from the 2017 to 2018 season. Like restaurants, broadcast networks and sports leagues struggle to keep fans engaged. On Thursday, Buffalo Wild Wings, the largest sports-bar chain in the country, announced it's "actively exploring" sports betting in its restaurants. This move follows a Supreme Court decision that paved the way for states to adopt legal sports betting in May. Delaware, New Jersey, and Louisiana have already done so. Buffalo Wild Wings could become an accessible location for fans to eat, drink ー and bet ー in states that allow it. And just as people don't travel to Las Vegas for sports betting, Taffer, a Vegas-native said, "you don't just go to a sports-bar to watch the game, I go to be with my buddies. I go to hang together. I go because you have good food. I go to have a great time." For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/sports-betting-to-the-rescue).

Share:
More In Culture
Celebrating Indian Recipes and Flavors With Chef Palak Patel
Chef Palak Patel's love of cooking started when she was a teenager searching for ways to fuse her mother's Indian recipes with some of her favorite American foods. Patel, author of cookbook 'The Chutney Life,' joined Cheddar News to share some of her favorite appetizers and snacks ahead of next month's Diwali festivities.
'Living for the Dead' Cast Joins Cheddar News
'Living for the Dead,' a new series from Kristen Stewart and the team behind 'Queer Eye', recently premiered on Hulu and follows five queer ghost hunters traveling around the country. The show's cast -- Ken Boggle, Roz Hernandez, Juju Bae, Logan Taylor and Alex Le May -- joined Cheddar News to discuss the project and what scary encounters they experienced while filming.
On the Scene: Learning About Climate Change at the Climate Museum
The first museum in the U.S. dedicated to the climate crisis is in New York. Miranda Massie, director at The Climate Museum, joined Cheddar News how the museum uses art and cultural programming to help people understand how big of a role each and everyone plays in understanding and helping with the climate crisis.
Load More