Bkack and White football lying on the ground

Sports play an essential role in shaping the youth and are a favorite pastime to many. This is why innovations are welcome that make watching sports more fun and engaging. Financial engagement with any match can heighten your emotions towards it and also expose you to alarming risks.

Did Supreme Court Ruling Help Boom Betting?

Not long ago, football betting was banned everywhere except in Nevada. 

The ruling of the Supreme Court removed the ban on sports betting in 2018 when it overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. In total, 35 states, along with Washington D.C., have already legalized betting since the ruling so to gain profit from it, and more could be on the way as per the American Gaming Association.

But the supreme court ruling was not the only factor involved. The four main sports leagues- the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, and NCCS- opposed the legalization of sports betting. But after the supreme court ruling, they not just accepted it but entered into partnerships with significant sportsbook operators, and the broadcasts now display these ads during the games. If you have turned in to watch a game, you must have seen ads strategically placed on the screen to grab the viewer’s attention and engage. Hence, it is clear that anyone who watches games on television in a state where betting is legal will know that ads have become more and more common. In fact, the sports betting industry recorded $57.2 billion in handling last year, as AGA reported.

Companies are Ready to Spend Whooping Amounts:

Seeing the potential of gaining sky-high profits in sports betting, companies are not ready to spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns to gain new customers.

Numbers show how quickly ads have grown on gaming sites and television. The cost of ads on gambling sites has jumped from $292 million in 2020 to $725 million in 2020. This means gambling companies are ready to spend three times to promote sports betting.

On top of that, the lack of clear regulations from the state and the federal government on how sportsbooks should run the ads is another problem that needs to be addressed. 

Not just televisions, but these companies also spend on displaying ads on gaming sites because these players are the easiest to convert into betting customers. Unfortunately, young people also game. In fact, most of the audience that visits these gaming sites are under 21. Gambling is not legal for those under 21, but there is no prohibition on running these ads during commercials at times when a higher number of young people watch these ads.

Another issue is that people with gambling issues also watch these ads, leading to riskier betting behavior. 

We forget to acknowledge that this isn’t a game we are talking about. These actions can have severe consequences for millions of Americans. Somehow gambling addiction is considered less harmful than alcohol or smoking addiction, but that necessarily is not true. More regulations need to be put up in place and raise the accountability of the betting companies to keep the people safe.