A study that looked at live sports in Canada found that 21% of broadcast time contained gambling-related messages. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

That’s a lot of advertising

A new study in Canada found that up to 21% of live sports broadcast time contains gambling messages. University of Bristol researchers and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s consumer watchdog department Marketplace conducted the research, looking at seven professional sporting events.

Researchers counted the number of times they saw the logos of betting companies, segment sponsorships, commercials, or betting odds during two NBA games and five NHL games that were shown live on television in October.

approximately 2.8 per minute of broadcast time

The researchers looked at the pre-game shows and the approximately three hours of each live broadcast. They saw 3,537 gambling-related messages, which equals approximately 2.8 per minute of broadcast time. Over 90% of them were rinkside, courtside, or on the actual playing surface. Messages relating to sportsbook operator FanDuel were the most prevalent.

A growing concern

York University Marketing Professor Markus Giesler expressed concerns about the deep integration of gambling and sports. He believes that this normalizes the activity, making something that is potentially very dangerous appear to be harmless and fun.

The prevalence of gambling messaging in live sports is not a problem reserved solely for North America. The University of Bristol researchers carried out a similar study during the first weekend of English Premier League soccer games in August, counting almost five messages per minute in each broadcast.

Ontario is the only Canadian province that currently has a market for private operators, which has been up and running since April 2022. Ontarians bet over CA$17bn (US$12.7bn) in the most recently reported quarter.

The introduction of this regulated market has led to an increase in calls to gambling helplines. Alcohol, Drug & Gambling Services Addiction Counsellor Deirdre Querney said that many people complain about the prevalence of ads and are constantly reminded about betting when they watch a sporting event.

Some restrictions in place

Sportsbook operators in Ontario have to follow certain rules relating to advertising. They need to mention responsible gaming in certain situations and meet a minimal level of expenditure on the promotion of safe gambling. The researchers saw these types of reminders in fewer than 3% of messages during the seven live sports broadcasts.

Major sportsbook operators spend huge sums on marketing as they try to acquire customers in a highly competitive space. DraftKings, for example, spent US$313m on marketing in Q3 2023.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is introducing a ban next month on athletes and celebrities appearing in gambling ads unless they’re promoting responsible gambling. Operators can also only advertise inducements like sign-up bonuses on their websites or when a person has opted in to receive email communications.