New Coalition Takes Aim at Responsible Sports Betting Advertising

The popularity explosion of the legal sports betting industry and online sports betting sites in the U.S. market has been relatively smooth, but it's still come with some problems for sports betting sites.

For example, sportsbook advertising that's seemingly saturated every sporting event and broadcast since the 2018 Supreme Court decision to overturn a blanket ban on sports wagering.

Some participating legal sports betting states and the best sportsbooks have started to draw a line and limit sports betting advertising. An announcement this week shows the seriousness of the matter and the widespread support of limitations on sportsbook advertising.

On Wednesday, a group of professional sports leagues—including the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, WNBA, NASCAR, and MLS—along with media outlets NBC Universal and FOX announced the formation of the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising. The group aims to hold sports betting providers accountable for their influence on the general public in the U.S. market.

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"As the legalization of sports betting spreads nationwide, we feel it is critical to establish guardrails around how sports betting should be advertised to consumers across the United States," the coalition said in a statement. "Each member of the coalition feels a responsibility to ensuring sports betting advertising is not only targeted to an appropriate audience, but also that the message is thoughtfully crafted and carefully delivered."

The coalition's aim

The coalition has identified six main principles and areas of concern. Their consumer protection policies state that:

• Sports betting should be marketed only to adults of legal betting age.

• Sports betting advertising should not promote irresponsible or excessive gambling or degrade the consumer experience.

• Sports betting advertisements should not be misleading.

• Sports betting advertisements should be in good taste.

• Publishers should have appropriate internal reviews of sports betting advertising.

• Publishers should review consumer complaints pertaining to sports betting advertising.

Sportsbook advertising saturation

Sports fans don't need to go too far to see or hear just how prevalent sports betting advertising has become in the North American market. Sportsbook advertising at venues, on television, radio, and social media channels has become not only normalized, but overwhelming, forcing many entities involved in the industry to take action.

iSpot, a company that tracks television audiences and advertising, identified $21.4 million in sportsbook advertising in 2019 - the first full year of legal sports betting in the U.S. That number swelled to a whopping $314.6 million come 2022, with little reason to think any advertising downturn is imminent.

Widespread regulation of sports betting advertising, in turn, seems like a logical step even for lawmakers, whose constituents benefit from the tax revenue generated from a strong legal sports betting platform. Problem gambling advocates have been diligent in their work to limit sportsbook advertising, and sports fans across the board have been critical of the abundance of such advertising recently.

Widespread support

The work of the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising initiative to regulate sports betting advertising was met with widespread support, including from those involved in Problem Gambling programs and sportsbooks that will be heavily scrutinized because of the plan. 

"The National Council on Problem Gambling commends the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising for recognizing the importance of responsible sports betting advertising and taking steps to lead the industry in proactive change to protect consumers," said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "We believe that with continued collaboration we can better mitigate problem gambling-related harm."

“DraftKings is committed to advertising our sportsbook product in a safe and responsible way, and we adhere to all principles in the American Gaming Association’s Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering," Stephanie Sherman, the chief marketing officer for DraftKings, said in a statement. "We commend the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising for bringing sports leagues and media entities together to establish similar principles and we look forward to working with the coalition in our shared effort to engage with fans responsibly.”