Top US Leagues, media outlets team on betting ad rules

The Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising launches today behind a series of ad policies that largely mirror those already adopted by American Gaming Association members and individual sportsbook operators, including the requirement that advertisers avoid glamourizing betting or using misleading language that makes it appear to be without risk. The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, MLS and WNBA all have signed on.

“We’ve always tried to be proactive and learn from best practices wherever they may be found,” said NFL VP/Public Policy & Government Affairs Jonathan Nabavi, who brought his counterparts from the leagues together to discuss their shared concerns beginning last year. “More voices that come out in the right way when it comes to responsibility messaging and responsible advertising is helpful. We represent a different side of the sports betting ecosystem and want to make sure that everyone knows where we stand and what we stand for.”

Other initial guidelines include limiting sportsbook advertising to programming in which a “significant majority of the audience (can be) reasonably expected” to be of legal betting age and requiring all ads include a “clear, prominent” responsible gambling message. The coalition also called for TV networks and online sites to train staff on responsible ad policies and implement compliance processes, with materials reviewed by those outside their marketing and sponsorship departments.

The content of sportsbook advertising attracted the attention of regulators in several states earlier this year, when responsible gambling advocates publicly challenged the common sportsbook advertising parlance that referred to promotional offers as “risk free” bets. Ohio regulators were the first to prohibit the language when the state opened to online sportsbooks on Jan. 1. In March, the AGA recrafted its responsible marketing code for sports wagering to ban the use of “risk free.” The AGA created its code, which includes almost identical positions to those embraced by the newly created coalition, in 2019.

“We built our responsible marketing code for sports . . . based on the premise that it will require the entire sports betting ecosystem to commit to responsible gaming and consumer education in order to create a viable and sustainable marketplace,” said AGA SVP Casey Clark. ”This is another good step in that direction.”

By Bill King