Sports Betting Operators Increase Spending for TV Ads

Since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, nearly 40 US states currently offer some form of sports betting. The significant expansion of the activity and its growing popularity helped create a competitive sports betting market. In light of this, betting operators across the country try to engage with new customers by offering different promotions and sports-related information, including live streaming capabilities news, scores, odds and more.

An inseparable part of this process is advertising and according to a new report, the spending on TV betting advertising since the start of the football season soared. Citing estimates from EDO Ad EnGage, a recent report released by MediaPost reveals that the spending for sports gambling TV advertising increased by 10% to $237.8 million for the period between September 1, 2023, and December 26, 2023.

It’s no surprise that betting operators relied primarily on sports-focused TV programs. “Sports gambling impressions were up 52% to a total of 20.7 billion – up from 13.6 billion a year ago, primarily due to airings more than doubling (to 59,81) versus 26,950 airings the year before,” explains the new report.

While a notable increase was observed in the spending for gambling ads via sports-focused programs, the estimates from EDO Ad EnGage highlighted growth in non-sports TV advertising. Reportedly, advertising via non-sports TV networks soared with American Heroes Channel seeing 4,960 airings and Discovery Life Channel hitting 2,160. Other non-sports TV networks that also caught the attention of sports betting operators include truTV (3,130 airings) and TBS (3,270 airings), among others.

Gambling Advertising via Certain Networks Decreases

In contrast, some networks saw a decline in sports gambling ads for the period September 1 through December 26. Examples include Fox which saw an estimate of $24.4 million in online sports gambling ads for the NFL in 2022, a number that decreased to $10.7 million this year. Similarly, betting operators spent $20.2 million for sports gambling ads via NBC for the aforementioned period last year. This year, that number decreased to $12.4 million.

Another network that posted a decrease in sports gambling TV advertising was ESPN. Last year, advertisers spent $10.2 million on such ads, a number that shrank to $6.22 million this year. It is likely that this decline was the result of more games airing via ABC, ESPN’s sister network, suggests the new report.