American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller has criticized a Washington Post op-ed that suggested that sportsbook advertising has been driving an increase in ad sales during this summer’s Olympic Games.
In a July 31 editorial titled ‘Sports betting ads are out of control. For solutions, look overseas.’ and bylined to the Washington Post Editorial Board, the Post implied that betting commercials have been the reason for record-setting Olympic ad sales.
“Olympics rules allow NBC Universal, which is providing live coverage of the events, to run ads from betting companies — and the network expects to break ad sales records from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” the article read. “There appears to be an accompanying surge in online sports betting.”
The op-ed goes on to highlight the “toxic side effects” of gambling and cites measures that other countries such as the U.K. and Spain have taken to limit sports betting advertising, including banning ads during live games and attempting to restrict when and to whom they are visible.
“After the initial excitement over new revenue from gambling taxation, several U.S. states are having second thoughts and considering how to limit the collateral damage,” said the article. “Fortunately, other countries have run some experiments for them.”
‘False premise, fault conclusion,’ says AGA
Calling the suggestion that sportsbook ads were behind the record Olympic ads sales “a leap worthy of medaling in this year’s games,” Miller took issue with the editorial’s sourcing and basis. In particular, he notes that the Post relied heavily on a Sports Betting Journal article about the record ad sales that doesn’t mention sports betting as a factor.
“Any industry observer, including those quoted in supporting evidence presented by the Board, would tell you the Olympics are a minor event on the sports betting calendar, and there is no indication that ad sale increases have been driven by sports betting,” Miller wrote on LinkedIn.
“In fact, the article they attribute their claim to – but apparently have not read – has no mention of sports betting whatsoever, instead attributing gains to higher digital ad inventory – because of NBC Universal/Peacock’s commitment to stream every event – and increases across non-gaming related industries.”
Miller stressed that the article’s suggestion that sports betting advertising is “out of control” is demonstrably false, highlighting that AGA research suggests that since 2021, advertising volume is down 20% and sports betting tv ad spend is down 33%.
The AGA CEO also emphasized the importance of distinguishing between legal, licensed sportsbooks and unlicensed, offshore operators. .
“As previous Post editorials on our industry have demonstrated, the Board stuck to a familiar format – lead with a false premise, rely on misleading data, and draw a faulty conclusion,” wrote Miller.
