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| Tech News The shelter always wins in online diversion |
The return of international football
tournaments in front of a live crowd is worth cheering, with the star power of
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe bringing fans out in droves to bars and
pubs eager to make up for a lost pandemic year.
Less cheerful is the fact many fans
remain glued to their screens wherever they are judging by the boom in online
gambling fueled by the easy smartphone betting and seductive advertising that
captivated many during lockdown. With awareness of mental health, stress and
the public-health costs of gambling addiction on the rise amid Covid-19, it’s a
cue to consider whether current rules are tough enough.
Having a captive audience with cash to
spare has been good for business: France, whose national team is the
bookmakers’ favourite to win the UEFA European Football Championship, posted a
record 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in online sporting bets in the first
three months of the year. The U.K., Europe’s top online gambling market, is also
breaking records with events like the Grand National horserace. Shares of
Ladbrokes owner Entain Plc and lottery operator La Francaise des Jeux have
soared on rising profits.
Yet if the camaraderie of a tentpole
sports event is increasingly linked to quick-fire bets everywhere, it’s also
thanks to a flood of breezy promotions, ads, time-limited bets and celebrity
sponsorships that incite people to bet with few reminders of the risks. While a
mix of rules and voluntary restraint from the operators themselves are supposed
to keep things in check, it’s time to heed persistent warnings from
public-health experts that children and problem gamblers aren’t being protected
enough.
The content of these ads can cross the
line: One recently-scrapped betting campaign in France depicted a young winner
carried aloft through his neighbourhood as his elders respectfully kneeled
before him. But even less egregious ads give off unrealistic vibes of
skills-based windfalls that hardly reflect reality. Industry heavyweights’
gross margins of more than 40% show the house has a tendency to win. “If you’re
playing more, you’re
Branding and advertising that aim to normalize
gambling and sports betting have succeeded through ubiquitous logos and tweets.
Measures like a voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” ban on in-match television
advertising in the U.K., where the industry spends 1.5 billion pounds ($2
billion) a year, mean little next to social media and team
sponsorships. Top psychiatrists have
warned it’s a public-health risk reminiscent of tobacco ads.
Operators are keen to promote what
their business gives back to the economy: The European Gaming and Betting
Association says its members in 2019 held 145 licenses across the continent and
invested 107.1 million euros in sport sponsorships. That won’t go unnoticed
post Covid-19. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sees sports betting as a way to
boost tax, while huge losses racked up by the likes of the U.K.’s Premier
League will need filling.
But at a time when athletes are
becoming more outspoken over the products they sponsor, and as social attitudes
even in bet-friendly Britain are hardening against glitzy gambling promotions,
momentum is likely to build behind tougher rules. Focusing solely on education
and research to preserve individual responsibility isn’t going to cut it when
data suggests the problem gambling could affect almost 1.4 million Brits.
An outright ban on gambling
advertising, as seen in Italy, isn’t likely to see wide take-up and might work
better as a threat than reality. But a ban on gambling sponsorships of sports
teams, approved in Spain and under review in the U.K., could gain traction.
Right now, too much responsibility lies in the hands of individual clubs that
can’t easily afford to turn down 5 to 10 million pounds. Norwich City recently
ended its deal with online casino BK8 after fan uproar over the company’s
sexualized marketing materials.
Gambling companies might protest, but
they may also appreciate a releveling of the marketing playing field against
rivals. But the real pressure, as sports-marketing expert Richard Denton of the
Johan Cruyff Institute points out, will be on the soccer teams whose attempts
at pulling other revenue levers (such as the Super League) haven’t always
worked. When Formula 1’s tobacco sponsorship ended in 2005, it sparked a
business-model revamp to make up for the shortfall. Other sports will need time
and support to make similar changes.
Any new rules should be imposed
carefully, and fairly, but given the social harms at stake, they’re worth a
punt.
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