Debate over sports betting advertising grows

The recent actions of the Australian government to ban all advertising of live odds in Australian sports has sparked debate in igaming and media regarding the regulation of sports betting advertising. The article covered here by SBC demonstrates that Australian governing sports bodies are prepared to support the bill even at the risk of decreasing potential revenues generated by sports betting advertising. Dave Smith Chief Executive Officer of the National Rugby League commenting – “Fans and particularly young fans should not be subject to excessive promotion of betting during matches. We want young kids to be enjoying the skills of their favorite team [and] not quoting the odds.”

Australia presently is one of the more coherent and lenient markets, in terms of legislation, regulation and practice of sports betting. numerous online/offline betting operators such as Bet365, Canbet, Sportingbet choose to market their in-play sportsbook products in this region.  In 2011 the Australian sports betting market was estimated to be worth (US) $250 million (aph.gov.au) The strict measures taken by the Australian Government to protect media audiences with regards to live odds advertising should be a concern to international sportsbook and not only those that have operations in that regions, as debate has risen over the past week regarding restrictions of gambling advertising, particularly focusing on TV advertising.

This week the UK media, have debated over sports betting and public protection, seeing numerous broadsheet newspapers comment on the matter of sports betting products on TV and especially highlighting concerns about the advertising of in-play odds. The UK has the most open media platform in terms gaming advertising in Europe, allowing all gaming products (casino, sports betting, poker and bingo) to be advertised on all  digital or traditional media platforms. Although there are restrictions to the advertising of certain products such as Casino, where coverage of the product can only be displayed on UK television after watershed.

The main debates/concerns have focused around protection of public viewing, especially minors and those that may be prone to problem gambling. Other concerns have been highlighted the heightened frequency of coverage in  advertising segments during sporting events, and the underhand messaging that may be occurring for the viewer “that sports cannot be enjoyed without participating in sports betting”. Almost all sporting events displayed on UK commercial television (excluding the public funded BBC) will feature  in-play sports betting advertising where the customer will get the latest odds regarding the match they are currently viewing and a further betting bonus/free money offer as a deposit incentive, this is a very clear direct call to action. Debate has risen in  both the Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers, both highlighting the recent actions of the Australian Government and whether the UK market should follow suite.

When debating this current issue, it is vital to recognise the impact of in-play betting on sports betting companies. The in-play/live odds  functions have revolutionized sports betting, no doubt offering the punter better value, more choice and control when placing potential bets. It must be noted that in-play sports betting has also changed the operational and marketing structures of  online sports books. UK Operators such as Bet365 and Ladbrokes have now changed their advertising and business models to home-in and acquire ‘Average Joe’ punters over professional or seasoned punters who may use the in-play applications as a means of arbitraging their sports bets. This change in model, means that TV advertising is a key acquisition tool for sports betting operators who seek to bring in customer liquidity to popular betting markets. A half time broadcasting of an English Premiership match will see numerous live odds advertised to the viewer. With TV advertising being such a key component to marketing and player acquisition success, operators such as Bet365, Ladbrokes, Victor Chandler and William Hill are now amongst the UK top TV advertising spenders. Any possible restrictions to TV advertising  would undoubtedly  hurt the operational and marketing  set up of UK sports betting operators.

SBC would like to point out clever perspective on this debate brought out by Lawyer Kevin Carpenter – Editor of Law In Sports. In his article ‘Is it time for the law to rein in sports gambling advertising?’ published on the 30 May 2013, Mr carpenter highlights the shortcomings of present UK advertising laws, highlighting certain loopholes and provisions that are not being met with regard to advertising of sports betting. Commenting “Although there are a raft of provisions in all of the above codes to promote non-misleading and socially responsible gambling advertising there is not one reference to the volume of such advertising. This failure in the rules should be considered particularly remiss given that sports betting advertising around sports events is exempted from the general ban on advertising on television before 9pm.” Furthermore The writer highlights that this constant volume of sports betting advertising may have an organic detrimental effect by simply being ‘ down right annoying’.

SBC would love to hear members opinions on the above subject matter. Please feel free to add your comment below or on our LinkedIn public forum/group