Felicia Grondin is the executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.
The business side of sports betting is typically full of calculations about market share, customer acquisition costs and lifetime customer value, as it should be. But it’s important to remember that all of these data points represent real people, and the plight of those people—customers—warrant a closer look at a cautionary tale from across the pond.
Sports betting in Europe has a nearly two-decade lead over the United States. England, along with much of Western Europe, has finally recognized that the profits sportsbooks reap come with a devastating cost to society-the more bet, the more problem bettors, the more debt and, in too many cases, despair.
As this fallout reached a crisis point, England took steps to crack down on game advertising, banning sports advertising during games. The Mayor of London recently promised to take the next step to remove gambling ads from the underground.
In recent years, the downsides of the sports gambling boom seen in Europe have become apparent on the state side. The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ) recently testified about increased problem gambling at a hearing before the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Gaming and the Arts. During the session, I noted the significant increase in gambling and gambling advertising in recent years. New Jersey sports gambling in particular has seen a staggering amount of betting: $25 billion in the four years since it became legal. The gaming industry’s TV ad spending has increased by 250% in one year, from $292 million in 2020 to $725 million in 2021, according to Nielsen. This ad spend largely reflects the fierce competition between sportsbooks, which are battling to be the dominant players in this market.
If the numbers sound staggering, the human toll is heartbreaking. The Assembly hearing included the screening of a segment of HBO Real Sports entitled “Show Me the Money,” to which CCGNJ contributed. The video contains interviews with the mother and girlfriend of a 25-year-old man from England, whose gambling debt drove him to commit suicide. It is, unfortunately, an all too common scenario, as the suicide rate of disordered gambling is 20% – the highest of any addiction.
CCGNJ’s 800-GAMBLER helpline, which takes calls from problem gamblers, has seen a 141% increase in call volume since 2018. The disturbing stories that have emerged include that of an 81-year-old woman whose phone solitaire habit led her to play. . She ended up outgrowing her $400,000 nest egg and now has to work a minimum wage job. Another recent call came from a man who squandered his son’s college fund through online sports betting.
Committee chairman Ralph Caputo, who supports the game as a source of revenue for the state, however, characterized the volume of advertising as “obscene”. He is not alone among New Jersey legislators in the problem with gambling ads. Senator Ray Lesniak, who placed the first legal sports bets in the state, expressed dismay at the content of some gambling marketing. In an article on Sportshandle, the senator said, “I actually filed complaints with the DGE [Division of Gaming Enforcement] about some of the TV ads that I believe were too tempting. I saw someone who was promoting a new pool in their put yard to win seats or something. Things like that. I think some of these commercials have gone a little too far in promoting the big dream, the big win. We have the regulatory power, we just have to use
Two lawmakers who generally see the game as a plus for the state are not blind to the costs that come with 24/7 access to betting apps, along with an endless stream of gambling ads. And as Lesniak said, they have the power to do something about it.
One approach would be to require warning labels on brick-and-mortar casinos and online betting sites. The CCGNJ presented these two concepts to the Assembly Committee last May. The legislators were receptive to our recommendations, and we hope they will pass.
It’s hard to argue with the “obscene” label president Caputo applied to the volume of gaming ads running now. If the industry really wants to avoid what happened in the UK, it will go one step further on its own. Although it may seem an unrealistic scenario, sports betting companies would do well to take the lead in reducing their marketing bombardment. Self-regulation is usually more palatable than that enforced by outside groups. Companies understandably have a hard time pulling back when there’s money at stake, but one way or another, either with self-imposed limits or those imposed by regulation, curbing the excesses of gaming marketing is in everyone’s best interest.
Felicia Grondin is the executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.
