First Came the Sports Betting Boom. Now Comes the Backlash.
In the United States, the tweaking of state regulations and laws started this winter in states including New York, where mobile sports betting generated $16.5 billion in bets and an extraordinary $909 million in new tax and licensing revenue in the first year it was legal.
But the explosive growth of legally sanctioned, online betting on sports also produced growing concerns that it could cause harm. New York responded by proposing new rules that prohibit any advertising on college campuses or that is “aimed at persons under the minimum age,” which in New York is 21, while Ohio stepped up enforcement actions.
“Folks are waking up to the need to intervene and not wait a decade and have the full brunt of harmful effects of this, particularly on minors,” said Matt Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, who said he was extremely disappointed with content of advertising in his state as betting started this year. “The industry will certainly never police itself.”
An estimated $1.8 billion was spent advertising online gambling last year in local markets in the United States, according to BIA Advisory Services, an industry data aggregator, up nearly 70 percent in just one year, contributing to a sense among certain state regulators — and many sports viewers — that the airwaves had become too saturated with sports betting ads.
Over the last six months, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio and Connecticut have enacted or proposed new rules relating to sports betting, some of which are now in effect or awaiting final approval. The measures differ by state, but most aim to prevent deceptive marketing or promotions targeting underage bettors.
Source: The New York Times
