New Media Association to Ensure Responsible Sports Betting Approach

The NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, WNBA, NBCUniversal and FOX joined forces today to create the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising, a voluntary association of sports and media entities seeking to ensure a responsible approach to sports betting advertising.

Establish Guardrails around Sports Betting Advertising

All members of the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising committed to implementing and maintaining common consumer protection policies underpinned by six principles, referring to the legal age of the audience, discouraging excessive gambling, prohibiting misleading messages, adhering to good taste, implementing publisher internal review processes and procedures for reviewing consumer complaints.

“As the legalization of sports betting spreads nationwide, we feel it is critical to establish guardrails around how sports betting should be advertised to consumers across the United States,” read the joint statement from the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising.

“Each member of the coalition feels a responsibility to ensure sports betting advertising is not only targeted to an appropriate audience but also that the message is thoughtfully crafted and carefully delivered,” the statement concluded.

Marketed Only to Adults of Legal Betting Age

This principle refers to the sports betting content being created in a way to appeal primarily to individuals of legal betting age and never be endorsed or promoted in any way by a person who is most likely below this legal age.

In addition, sports wagering content should be promoted via media where there is a reasonable expectation that a significant majority of the audience is of legal betting age and the content should not be created in a way to appeal to children.

Discourage Irresponsible and Excessive Gambling

The association members agreed that sports betting advertising should contain “a clear, prominent, responsible gaming message” that contains information about responsible gambling resources and never be targeted at adults known to have self-excluded from gambling.

Furthermore, content creators should make efforts to avoid creating sports betting advertising content, including advertisements, promotions, integrations, and others, that encourage irresponsible gambling or degrade the consumer experience.

Advertising Should Not Be Misleading

The leagues and media companies behind the association united behind the principle that sports betting advertising “should never be false, deceptive or misleading,” such as creating unrealistic expectations of financial gains or suggesting that by engaging with sports betting any type of success – social, financial or personal – is guaranteed.

Moreover, no marketing message should state or imply that a wager is without a risk “if the customer must incur any loss, or risk the customer’s own money, to use or withdraw winnings from such [a] bet.”

Adhering to Standards of Good Taste

This principle asks the association’s members to adhere to contemporary standards of good taste applicable to all commercial messaging, including consideration of the medium and advertising context so that the public perception of sports or their integrity is never undermined.

Appropriate Review of Advertising

This principle requires publishers of sports betting advertising to ensure appropriate training for their employees regarding responsible sports betting advertising policies and implement processes to ensure compliance with these policies.

To the extent possible, there should be a separate review provided by company employees outside the marketing and sponsorship departments as part of these processes.

Review of Consumer Complaints

The final principle sets a requirement for publishers of sports betting advertising to develop and implement a process that will allow them to review consumer complaints pertaining to sports betting advertising.