Massachusetts sports betting regulators are concerned the commonwealth is about to be swamped by a wave of advertising when legal wagering goes live in the state early next year.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) met on Monday with representatives from the American Gaming Association, the New England Sports Network (NESN), and Major League Baseball, among others, for a virtual roundtable regarding the advertising of retail and online sports betting sites.
Legal sports betting is expected to start in Massachusetts at casinos in late January and over the internet in early March. When it does, though, the state’s top gaming regulator is worried residents will be hit by a barrage of ads.
“I have a real fear that we will be inundated once we stand up sports wagering in a way that Massachusetts may not be prepared,” MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein said during Monday's meeting. “We've seen some of this in the cannabis industry. I suspect sports wagering might even be more intense.”
You might have a point there
The chair’s concerns may not be unfounded, as the launch of sports betting in a state can trigger a rush of advertising by newly-legal operators looking to sign up customers. Massachusetts is expected to be an attractive market for bookmakers as well given its considerable population and reputation for rabid sports fans.
Such was the onslaught of advertising during last year’s football season that some in the industry feared a crackdown similar to the one the daily fantasy industry endured after its ad splurge around seven years ago. However, the industry appears to have eased off a bit, sometimes due to financial constraints, and the sports leagues themselves have tried to keep the sportsbook advertising to a respectful minimum.
For example, Marquest Meeks, vice president and deputy general counsel at Major League Baseball, told the commission that the league permits a total of only 10 sportsbook ads throughout a broadcast, including no more than six during the game itself. The league also has a limit of just one 30-second spot per ad break, although it will allow two additional 30-second spots if they are about responsible gaming.
But MLB is trying to strike a "balance" as well. That balance is between boosting interest among fans, avoiding annoying people who aren't interested in sports betting, and also allowing operators to try to draw customers away from illegal books that don't cooperate with leagues or regulators.
“And so we have tried again to strike that balance to make sure that those entities and companies have as much of an opportunity to draw customers away from that illegal market,” Meeks said.
Know your audience
The bill that Massachusetts lawmakers ultimately passed this summer requires the gaming commission to enact rules prohibiting several forms of advertising, including deceptive promotions and unsolicited pop-up ads via the internet or text message that are directed at people who self-exclude from gambling. Also prohibited is advertising aimed at people younger than 21, and that appears on public signage and fails to comply with federal, state, or local laws.
While the state Senate was proposing a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on all advertising during the live broadcast of games, that provision of the bill was dropped from the version that became law. Instead, the Massachusetts sports-betting law bans only advertising that disrupts the viewing experience for people at a sporting event, not those who are just watching it on television.
Massachusetts regulators are still hammering out all the rules for legal sports betting in the state, such as those for advertising. Nevertheless, the industry and its partners are trying to be proactive and get out in front of the matter.
“It's a lesson learned from years ago, of oversaturation,” NESN President and CEO Sean McGrail said during Monday’s meeting. “And frankly, we've seen it in other categories, too. We've seen it in the airline industry, where certain airlines would like to buy out inventory … and it became a distraction. So we're very cognizant of our audience and we spend a great deal of time thinking about what’s the impact on the audience and exactly how is this affecting the broadcast and our overall performance and brands.”
