It’s no secret that the amount of sports betting advertisements we see on a daily basis can be overwhelming. Add in the fact that remarkable former star professional athletes and celebrities are involved in sports betting marketing and there is no reason to hide from them.
Sports Betting Ads are everywhere, from TV commercials to social media banners to highway billboards. And when the likes of Kevin Hart, Jerry Rice, Ben Affleck and Shaquille O’Neal are touting how fun sports betting can be, The reminder to bet responsibly is easy to overlook.
PlayIllinois spoke to Keith Whytethe manager of The National Problem Gambling Councilwhat role sports heroes and Hollywood stars play in the marketing of sports betting and what impact this has on problem gambling.
Some people with serious gambling problems do not like seeing celebrities in sports betting ads
Founded in 1972, the NCPG is one of the oldest organizations dedicated to gambling issues. Whyte has been the organization’s executive director for the past 25 years.
During that time, Whyte has witnessed quite a number of extreme gambling cases. He says there There is not enough concrete data It can be said that seeing ex-pro athletes in sports betting ads contributes to more gambling problems. However, he also says that some with serious gambling problems, whom he has spoken to directly, find it difficult to watch their favorite athletes and celebrities promote something they struggle with.
“We hear from people in recovery that the association with celebrities and gambling unduly glamorizes betting,” Whyte said. “And in the minds of people who have problems gambling, it associates these celebrities with harm and addiction and horribly negative outcomes.”
Whyte spoke about a man who has been recovering from his gambling addiction for 30 years. The man told Whyte that seeing these athletes endorsing sports betting made him sick. However, the man believes these stars are unaware of the gravity of the situation. He told Whyte that he thought they had no idea how much pain and damage gambling addiction causes.
Whyte said people with serious gambling problems are a problem estimated 2% of the population in the USA. However, he believes that due to the volume of unreported issues and the large number of minors watching massive amounts of sports betting commercials, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
“I don’t think anyone has a handle on the amount of advertising that people under the age of 21 see,” Whyte said. “I suspect it would be a really large amount if we looked into it.”
Whyte said that while celebrities educate about responsible gambling, while helpful, it’s rare
There are quite a number of ads educating people about problem gambling. However, they don’t flood the airways like the pure sports betting commercials.
Whyte mentioned that, for example ‘Family Manning‘ and their partnership with Caesars Sportsbook. Archie Manning and his two sons Peyton and Eli are ambassadors for the well-known sports betting company. All three are legendary, well-known NFL quarterbacks.
The Mannings created an ad with Caesars that specifically focuses on responsible gambling.
Whyte commended the efforts of the family and operator in trying to get the right message across.
“It was at least a commitment from Caesars, a significant investment of time and money, and an agreement on the part of the Mannings to do so,” Whyte said. “In my opinion, this combination has led to enormously positive feedback.”
However, Whyte also pointed out that it was just one company using a group of its prominent advertisers to promote responsible gambling.
Responsible gambling ads are harder to find, usually not in high rotation
For context, I had never seen this Manning Responsible Gambling commercial on TV. I had to go to YouTube to find it. However, I’ve seen almost all of the commercials that have stars like Halle Berry and JB Smoove promoting the Caesars mobile sports betting app.
That’s the case with most high-profile operators. I could only find their responsible gambling ads online. You rarely see them when watching a Chicago Bears or Chicago White Sox game. Whyte said this was an advertising error.
“It is clear that the vast majority of responsible gambling ads are seen by very few people because they are completely overwhelmed by the amount of regular commercial advertising,” Whyte said. “There are critics who say, ‘If you can only see the Manning ads if you search for it on YouTube, how effective will that be?'”
Whyte said the criticism suggests that there needs to be an assessment of how much money or how much money is being put into promoting responsible gambling. He said the question to ask operators is: how much of their budget is going towards ads designed solely to convey a responsible gambling message?
NCPG hopes to promote more responsible gambling
There are some responsible gambling commercials that appear on TV from time to time. I vividly remember the NFL hosting a few games during the 2022 season. However, most of them didn’t feature ex-players and I can only remember one with an ex-coach.
Whyte said the responsibility lies not only with operators to spread the message, but also with organizations like the NCPG.
“We believe operators should spread responsible gambling messages. But then groups like NPCG should be sending out problem gambling news,” Whyte said.
The NFL is one of the partners of the NCPG. The league and the organization agreed on a grant for a total of three years $6.2 million two years ago. Whyte said some of the money the NCPG receives will be used to promote more problem gambling.
“We are compiling our first nationwide public service announcements for television, digital and radio,” said Whyte. “We cannot rely on operators to just do this and it cannot be just a single message. One size doesn’t fit all.”
The NCPG does not yet have a list of former professional athletes or celebrities they could ask for help with their publicity campaign. But Whyte said he expects more athletes struggling with gambling addiction to come forward and share their stories over time.
“[Currently]most people are either suffering in silence or afraid of putting their reputation at risk, or they’re just focused on their own recovery,” Whyte said. “It’s a great way to make people aware of the seriousness of the problem, but most importantly, no matter how serious your problem is, you can still get help and get well.”
More information about the National Council on Problem Gambling can be found here.
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