Something changed this year. During the Super Bowl in 2022, most of the television adverts at the halftime show – some of the most expensive adverts in the world – seemed to be for cryptocurrency in some shape or form. That all changed this year when big-name celebrities moved to the latest trend in marketing.
But one thing that hasn’t changed since the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2018 to allow individual states to legislate gambling, is the number of betting ads on our screens. Whether it is for a sportsbook affiliated with an entire major league or a betting site like BetOnline, we are being made more and more aware of their existence.
There has naturally been a pushback on the money spent on gambling advertising, as well as the way the television schedules have been saturated with their airing. But most experts don’t believe anything will happen soon, even if there is the beginning of a groundswell to push for greater regulation.
More Regulation?
The situation is different in other places around the world. There are no gambling adverts at all in Italy – and the United Kingdom recently banned any advertising during live games. There is a demand for those restrictions and regulations to be even tighter. But the laws in those countries make it easier for the watchdogs to have their say.
In the US, the First Amendment actually protects the betting firms and their right to commercial free speech. It is, therefore, much more difficult to foresee a blanket ban – or anything remotely near that – happening on American television.
Newer Markets
There is also the recency factor. The betting industry in Italy and the UK are far more established and have seen a number of changes in the regulations over the years. Legalized sports betting in the US has only really been a thing for five years now (apart from in a few locations) and it is an industry that is still evolving.
Another reason why it is very unlikely that anything will change anytime soon is that the regulation of gambling advertising in the US is down to the betting firms and sportsbooks themselves. It would be a very strange situation for sportsbooks to call for tighter regulations that would decrease potential profits.
A Rise in Investment
There has been a huge increase in the amount of money spent on television sportsbook ads since 2018. As more and more states have changed their laws to allow online sports betting, the trend has been for the operators to spend more and more money.
There has been a slight leveling off in the last year. But even then, the amounts have been staggering and most companies still seem to be quite happy to spend big on marketing budgets. As the industry calms down a little, it has been noticeable though that a bigger slice of the budget has been reserved for the main cash cow of US betting – NFL football.
In other countries – like Italy and the UK – it is soccer that sees the most betting traffic each week. But in the US it is definitely football that rules the roost – and that is why everything builds towards the Super Bowl every season.
The Future of Sports Advertising in the US
Although the usual course of emerging markets suggests that there will be some greater regulation brought in at some point, it doesn’t seem to be something that we should expect soon. Although some politicians will make a few headlines demanding for more control, it is unlikely that such a new phenomenon will change in the short term.
With interest in crypto decreasing in the last year, the obvious demographic has come back to an even more natural habitat for its investment – sports betting. Until something else comes along, or the industry calms down its competition, the number of betting adverts will probably stay the same – at the very least. Don’t expect to not see your favorite celebrities advertising sportsbooks quite yet.
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