The Unites States banned cigarette advertising on television and radio in 1971 due to the serious health concerns of smoking, and increasing public concern about tobacco’s influence, especially on young people. Today, increasingly more people are asking the same about sports gambling advertisements and the potential negative effects on society, and whether these ads should face a similar fate? While it is true that there is no evidence that sports gambling leads to cancer, gambling addiction can contribute to a host of mental health problems, financial woes, substance abuse, marital problems, and homelessness, to name a few. Sports gambling is everywhere in this moment, and not everybody is getting rich. Is it time to take a comprehensive look at the overall effect of sports gambling advertisements and the relation to sports gambling addiction — and all the problems that flow from being hooked on sports betting?
Are gambling ads more dangerous that cigarette ads?
I was only a baby in 1971, so I don’t know the specific conversations that were had leading to the banning of cigarette ads on television and radio. What I do know is that as a kid of the 1970’s it was well known by then that cigarettes caused cancer, and that chronic smoking contributed to all kinds of respiratory issues and other health concerns. What led to the decision to ban smoke ads is unclear, but we can assume society at-large saw a tip in the scale from cigarettes being harmless and fun, to something very toxic and worth banning advertising.
While sports gambling addiction doesn’t have the same background story, nor does it lead to lung cancer, it is every bit as potentially dangerous in different, less visible ways. No, you won’t see a gambling addict hacking away coughing while taking a drag of a smoke, but you often will see that individual high or drunk, depressed and anxious, and losing large sums of money that can lead to divorce, arrest, and incarceration — or even homelessness. Yes, the path to lung cancer from smoking may be a direct straight line, but if you look closely you can see a fairly clear pattern of the very serious dangers of gambling addiction, too.
Cigarette ads used to be cool, with cowboys on the range taking a drag while herding cattle. Sports gambling ads, while rarely western-themed, also present a sense of coolness — as well as great jubilation when hitting on that big bet! These sports gambling ads do lead to more gambling addiction, especially with young men with brains not yet fully developed. And even if you just want to watch a game without sports gambling ads, you can’t do that in this moment, as literally every big sporting event today includes non-stop sports gambling ads at every turn. What I am saying is sports gambling ads are everywhere, and these ads are most definitely impacting millions of vulnerable people who can’t get away from them so long as they want to watch sports on television.
Perhaps the reason (beyond the money in advertising) that sports gambling ads are not banned yet is due to the subtle nature of unhealthy consequences that follow. Unlike the effects of smoking that are painfully easy to see when someone has emphysema or cancer, you don’t always “see” depression, substance abuse, failed marriages, suicidal ideation, and bankruptcy. The consequences of sports gambling addiction, while very serious, don’t usually present as dramatic, nor is the line as direct with cause-effect. Are those the reasons why sports gambling ads continue to flourish in this moment?
Sports gambling advertisements have definitely changed the ways in which we watch sports on television, with critics arguing they are tired of seeing the ads non-stop. The bigger problems, however, have less to do with being annoyed and more to do with the effects that these ads have on gambling, addiction, and the serious mental health and related problems that follow. Is it finally time to take a closer look at scaling back on these ads — or banning them altogether, as we did with cigarettes?
Final thoughts
In just the last 5 years we have gone from no sports gambling ads on television, to sports gambling ads about parlays, odds, prop bets, and over/under’s at every turn. This change has been very dramatic, and has invited millions of people who never gambled to try an “easy” first bet, one that many of the casino’s will even allow “on them.” Sports betting can be fun, especially with that first big win! But what happens after that, as the odds stack against you and the sports bet losses add up? The ads keep playing and you keep trying to get back, but the very real consequences of losing money lead to all kinds of new problems you never had, including mental health, marital, and financial issues. Will there soon be a correction made, one where these ads are limited — or eliminated altogether? It happened once before with cigarettes, will it happen with sports gambling ads?
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