Sports betting ads may seem to be everywhere, but the NFL says viewers will only see three of them during next month’s Super Bowl.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Sports betting ads continue to flood the airwaves, but the NFL announced Tuesday that viewers will only see three such ads during next month’s Super Bowl broadcast. .
NFL general manager of sports betting David Highhill told reporters there will be one sports betting ad just before kickoff and two during the game.
The league has placed limits on in-game sports betting advertising. But sportsbooks have only purchased three such ads to air immediately before and during the Super Bowl broadcast, the maximum allowed, according to NFL spokesperson Alex Reith-Miller. It is said that it is less than the number.
“We have put in place several policies to limit the amount of sports betting advertising that takes place during live games,” Highhill said. “Approximately one ad appears every quarter. Overall, sports betting ads account for less than 5% of all in-game ads.”
League officials and gambling problem treatment group leaders spoke in an online forum about the NFL’s first Super Bowl, held in Las Vegas, the nation’s gambling capital. The Kansas City Chiefs will look to defend their title against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11th.
The league was one of many professional sports leagues that fought the legalization of sports betting, primarily on the grounds that it could undermine fans’ perceptions of the integrity of the game. Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, communications and policy, said maintaining public trust is the league’s top priority six years after sports betting became legal.
Part of that effort includes “being mindful of the intent, volume and saturation of sports betting advertising and how well it is integrated into live games,” Highhill said.
He said the league has been surveying fans since 2019 about their attitudes and participation in legal sports betting. Although he didn’t provide statistics, he said the number of people in the NFL who say they like sports betting and participate in it is increasing, and the number of people who don’t participate is decreasing.
Sports betting advertising themes have been a topic of debate for many years. Around the same time New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2018, paving the way for sports betting to be offered in all 50 states (38 states, including Washington, D.C.) Media and digital media were flooded with the following advertisements. sports betting.
This led to complaints from some customers, including recovering compulsive gamblers who said the constant temptation to gamble made it difficult for them to resist. Lawmakers chimed in, threatening to impose restrictions on such advertising if sportsbooks can’t restrain themselves.
Even American Gaming Association President Bill Miller warned at a sports betting forum in December 2021 that the level of such advertising was becoming an “unsustainable arms race.”
In April 2023, most of the nation’s major professional sports leagues and media companies Fox and NBCUniversal will voluntarily ensure that sports betting advertising is done responsibly and does not target minors. An alliance was established for the
Highhill said the NFL tends to get blamed for unaffordable sports betting advertising.
“We can be held accountable for ads that aren’t running in our games or are being played on other sports programs and sports radio throughout the week,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot control all advertising everywhere.”
Also at Tuesday’s press conference, Jeff Miller highlighted the integrity measures the league has put in place, including training more than 17,000 league personnel on what is and is not allowed when it comes to gambling. . Partnerships with third-party data and monitoring companies, disciplinary action against those found to have violated league rules regarding gambling, and more.
He said Las Vegas has proven itself to be a competent city in its relationship with the league, including the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas and the recent NFL Draft held there.
Keith White, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, said a $6.2 million contribution from the NFL in 2021 to help expand gambling treatment programs will help “hundreds of thousands of people with gambling concerns and problems.” People can visit the organization’s website or call the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline.
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