Digital advocacy group, National Consumers League, insists on banning sports betting advertisements on smartphones.
National Consumers League Urges Ban on Sports Betting Advertisements on Smartphones
The National Consumers League (NCL) has called for a ban on sports betting advertisements, particularly push notifications, on smartphones, citing aggressive marketing tactics that pose public health risks.
In a recent study, NCL analyzed over 100 push notifications from the three largest sports betting apps: FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. The report found that 93% of these push notifications contained advertising content, with 62% containing direct calls to action like "bet now."
The NCL argues that sports betting advertisements are not typical product marketing due to gambling's addictive and harmful nature. The harms associated with gambling include higher rates of suicide, intimate partner violence, and financial distress such as bankruptcy.
Push notifications are particularly invasive because they reach consumers in personal settings like homes and workplaces at all hours. These marketing tactics are linked to increased harms, according to the NCL.
To combat this, NCL supports several legislative proposals:
- At the federal level, the NCL supports the SAFE Bet Act, a bill aiming to ban sports betting advertisements with promotional offers, restrict AI for personalized betting incentives, and limit advertising hours.
- At the state level, NCL is backing the Regulating Addictive Notifications Act in the New York State Senate, which would bar sports betting companies from sending promotional push notifications or text messages soliciting wagers. NCL is also backing Assembly Bill A5207 in New Jersey, which would prohibit internet-based sports betting advertisements, including those on mobile apps.
In addition to legislative efforts, NCL is urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the use of push notifications as a marketing tool, suggesting it may violate laws against unfair or deceptive business practices. The NCL is calling for a ban on the use of push notifications for sports betting advertisements.
The SAFE Bet Act, supported by NCL, would largely ban offers like bonuses, bonus bets, and odds boosts under consideration. Half of the notifications analyzed by the NCL promoted incentives like these.
In summary, the NCL emphasizes banning sports betting ads on smartphones, especially push notifications, and supports legislative efforts at federal and state levels to restrict or prohibit these aggressive marketing tactics.
The National Consumers League (NCL) supports the SAFE Bet Act, a federal bill aiming to ban sports betting advertisements that offer promotional incentives like bonuses or odds boosts. This legislation aligns with NCL's calls for a ban on push notifications for sports betting advertisements, as they find these tactics particularly invasive and harmful. Moreover, the NCL suggests that the use of push notifications for sports betting marketing may violate laws against unfair or deceptive business practices, and has urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate this. In addition to legislative efforts, the NCL is advocating for a ban on sports betting advertisements on smartphones, given the addictive and harmful nature of gambling.
