The issue of gambling advertising and its increased proliferation across mainstream and online media channels has become a major talking point in global jurisdictions in recent years, with anti-gambling groups having called for blanket bans in the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere.
It is undoubtedly a divisive issue and one worth further discussion, but much like in the many Asian jurisdictions that continue to prohibit all online gambling, or Australia where casino operators now face so many restrictions as to render profitability a distant memory, prohibition of any form tends to come with unintended consequences.
So what should be done about gambling advertising? I imagine that any reasonable person would agree that such advertising during broadcast sporting events has reached a crescendo. Whether you are watching the NBA or NFL in America or the NRL and AFL in Australia, odds updates have become as common as a Steph Curry long-range dagger.
But like anything, a common-sense approach is essential to any discussions on limitations around gambling advertising – easier said than done given the vocal nature of those in favor of a blanket ban.
Last month, the Australian government – impressively, I would say – rejected such calls in favor of a “frequency cap” that would limit the number of ads shown during certain hours and ban them completely immediately before and after a live sports broadcast. While the concept may need some tweaking, it at least represents a reasonable approach to the legitimate concerns around exposing minors to gambling.
But a blanket ban ignores some inconvenient truths for the anti-gambling brigade. For one, sports betting is a legal product in the UK, US and Australian markets where this issue has been of focus, and as such licensed operators – who pay fees and taxes for the privilege – should have the ability to market to their customer base. And those who enjoy a flutter on the footy each weekend genuinely want to know what special offers are available on the sports they enjoy.
It is also important to note that not all gambling advertising is equal: it would be galling to see such ads aired during the latest episode of Sesame Street, but what about during the Kentucky Derby or the Melbourne Cup?
And here’s the big one. You can ban advertising by licensed operators, but that ban does not practically apply to the many offshore operators who are already illegally offering their services to citizens. Rest assured, the more you restrict what licensed operators can do, the more illegal ones will ramp up their own activities to take advantage of the disparity.
This is already a growing problem in markets where In-Play Betting is restricted. In Australia, a 2017 government-commissioned report on this very issue found “indications that these restrictions imposed by operators and other government-imposed restrictions to online in-play sports betting may be acting as push factors to encourage Australian gamblers to use illegal offshore wagering operators.”
It is true that those who seek to ban or restrict gambling generally do so with the honorable intention of protecting the vulnerable, but in most cases it is also true that the end result is the complete opposite.
That’s why the only reasonable way forward on issues such as this are logical, emotion-free and evidence-based discussions so that any response is appropriate to the problem at hand.
And let’s stop pretending that if you ignore (ban) something, it will go away.
