The National Consumers League on Thursday released a report that indicates that 93% of smartphone notification sent by three sports betting companies during a four-week period contained advertising material. The findings are based on a collection of more than 100 notifications.
The NCL advocates for a ban on sports betting advertising, especially the use of push notifications for this purpose, though the NCL is not advocating for a ban on sports betting.
“Sports betting companies have 24/7 access to consumers through their phones, from the minute they wake up to the second they fall asleep. The use of app notifications for advertisements is an extremely invasive marketing practice that should not be normalized,” NCL Senior Public Policy Manager Eden Iscil said in a statement. “The government regulates advertising on television, email, and text messages. But when it comes to push notifications, something that’s arguably more effective than each of those older mediums, there are no protections.”
According to the NCL, 62% of notifications collected contained language urging the user to place a bet, often explicitly with words such as “bet now.” At least 50% contained promotional offers, including bonuses, bonus bets, “no sweat” bets, and odds boosts. An additional 28% advertised betting odds and 15% marketed parlays, a risky type of bet with little chance of payout for the bettor.
The rate of the notifications varied among the three companies.
The NCL is endorsing three legislative proposals under consideration to better protect the public:
- The SAFE Bet Act in Congress is a proposal that includes a ban on sports betting ads containing promotions. The bill also will ban the use of AI to create individual offers or promotions, and would significantly restrict the hours that sports betting companies can advertise. The NCL found that the apps sent 91% of their advertising notifications outside of the hours that would be permissible under the SAFE Bet Act.
- The Regulating Addictive Notifications Act in the New York State Senate, a proposal that bans push notifications or text messages for the solicitation of sports wagers.
- A5207 in the New Jersey General Assembly, a proposal that bans the advertising of sports betting via the Internet, including mobile apps.
The NCL urges the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the aggressive use of push notifications for marketing, which may violate the federal ban on unfair and deceptive acts or practices.
A blog post outlining how the FTC should consider these advertisements can be found here.
NCL’s full report on sports betting companies’ use of push notifications can be found here.
