This new series will prepare you for 2024’s biggest show with the most recent developments from 2023.
The year 2024 will be a fascinating one for the sports betting industry, especially when it comes down to marketing, as operators are set to face more scrutiny.
The United Kingdom will have a prominent role in this. Recently, the culture media sport (CMS), committee called for an end to sports betting advertisements in order to protect children.
Published in April 2023 the white paper was intended to explain how gambling regulation should take place in Britain. It was criticized for not having any measures to combat advertising. CMS wants to do more in 2024 that was not outlined in white paper.
This year, the pressure to cut down on sports betting advertisements could be a theme in Europe. France, Belgium, and the Netherlands took similar steps to limit the visible marketing of gambling in 2023.
In the US too, a representative of the Democratic Party, Paul Tonko introduced a bill to the House that proposed a broad-reaching prohibition on advertising for sportsbooks.
The UK sports betting sponsorship debate is still raging
In 2024, the UK will likely be the most prominent region for the discussion of sports betting advertisements. White paper did little to quell the controversy and was criticized for not taking action.
Before the publication of the White Paper, Premier League clubs decided to stop gambling sponsors on matchday shirts at the end of 2025-2026. Eight of 20 Premier League clubs were involved in shirt sponsorship deals with gambling operators at the time the vote was held.
In an article published by iGB’s Jon Bruford, an industry expert, he expressed that this move is “ineffective at best and pointless at worse”, and requires more action to address the issues surrounding advertising.
The CMS Committee welcomed Premier League club’s decision but also called for “a more precautionary approach to advertising” than what was proposed in the white paper. The committee cited a study that highlighted the large number of gambling advertisements visible at matches, aside from shirt sponsors.
A study released in September that investigated Premier League Advertising found “no self-regulation”.
The study by Bristol University revealed that 92% of gambling brand content marketing advertisements violated the regulations because they weren’t clearly identifiable. Researchers found that only 18,7% of gambling age warnings and 20,6% included messages on harm reduction.
There is no doubt that there’s a serious problem. According to a recent study by the Football Supporters Association, almost three quarters of English and Welsh football fans are worried about the level of sponsorship of the sport.
But it’s not a simple fix. 2024 will be a crucial year for the future of sports betting advertising.
Advertising for sports betting is a popular topic in Europe
The year 2023 will be remembered as an important one for the way that a few European countries regulate advertising in sports betting.
France is one country that has tightened its advertising restrictions for sports betting. French gambling regulator l’Autorite Nationale des Jeux, prohibited using an athlete’s picture in gambling communication.
ANJ has also issued a new set of gambling sponsorship rules for teams and a ban on role models, which prohibits athletes who are popular among children from being featured in marketing.
In July, Belgium introduced a ban on almost all gambling advertisements. The ban was criticized by the gambling industry. Some claimed that the prohibition would instead help the illegal market.
The Netherlands also banned gambling advertisements in most media outlets on the same day that Belgium did. In some cases, advertising targeted to specific audiences was allowed, unlike the ban in Belgium. It was the regulator’s aim to make sure that 95% of people viewing advertisements were over 24.
Germany and Italy have already imposed extremely strict restrictions on advertising sports bets. Both countries’ operators are pushing to relax these rules in the near future.
US: The Betting on Our Future Act
Paul Tonko, a Democratic Representative from 2023 introduced the Betting on Our Future Act in February.
The proposed ban would “prohibit advertising for sportsbooks in any electronic medium under the jurisdiction of Federal Communications Commission” (FCC), as well as other uses.
The FCC would then be able to control the advertising of sportsbooks on media such as radio, TV or the Internet. The bill has not yet passed the House and is being criticized by the sports betting industry.
In April, the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising was launched. The Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising was launched in April by a number of broadcasting companies and sport leagues. All three leagues were involved: the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and National Hockey League.
In November, the NBA, MLB, and NHL released a joint ad promoting responsible gaming called “Never Know What’s next”. This ad was posted on the X accounts of all three sports leagues, formerly Twitter. It aimed to show how unpredictable sport can be.
FanDuel Group lobbied in New York against the rules that prohibit advertising of sports betting around colleges and universities.
New York updated its sports betting regulations in October. The New York State Registrar took into account the opinions of various licensees including FanDuel, owned by Flutter Entertainment.
Unredacted documents from the state registry now reveal that FanDuel was opposed to this move. Also, the operator spoke against several other October measures.
