Do you have one of those friends — er, “friends” — who is like, “Look how modest I am!” You know the type. A real humblebragger. “I’m so exhausted from volunteering all weekend,” they might say, or perhaps, “I can’t believe my silly TED talk went viral, now my inbox is overflowing!”
Yeah. I hate those people. Just shut up.
I couldn’t help but think of this when the American Gaming Association released a one-sheeter last week highlighting how “little” sports betting advertising there is on television.
“Sports Betting’s share of TV advertising spend was flat and accounted for less than 1% of national spend on TV advertising for a second year in a row,” the sheet explained, happily. You could practically feel an exclamation point straining to finish the sentence.
Listen, I get it. Sports betting advertising has been in the crosshairs of legislators, from the federal level with the SAFE Bet Act down to the state level, where there’s a bill in New Jersey that would send sports betting advertising to the same graveyard inhabited by cigarettes.
And yes, gambling addiction is a serious topic worthy of legislators’ attention.
But sure, good for you AGA, hyping the fact sports betting companies are “only” spending nearly $700 million on television ads yearly, which ends up accounting for about 38 times less air time than pharmaceutical companies take.
Hmmm. Pharmaceuticals …
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Anyway, sports betting might have 1/38th the number of ads out there than Big Pharma, but it’s still a ton.
In fact, according to research from the World Advertising Research Center, the money spent on sports betting ads is a little more than the money spent on legal services.
Hmmm. Legal services …
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I don’t always bet …
The folks at the AGA were also surprisingly excited to note alcohol — responsible for about 178,000 deaths in America each year, according to the CDC — spends only slightly more to advertise their product than do the sports betting companies.
He once predicted the exact score of a game without knowing which teams were playing.
His parlays have parlays.
When he places a bet, the odds move in his favor out of respect.
Referees check their calls with him before making them official.
Fortune tellers ask him for next week’s results.
“I don’t always bet on sports … but when I do, I prefer Dos Betquis. Stay profitable, my friends.”
Of course, we can look at this through a different prism. For instance, the big four insurers — Progressive, Allstate, Geico, and State Farm — spent $3.7 billion on TV ads in 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So think of it this way: The companies responsible for virtually everyone’s home, auto, business, and personal insurance spent a little more than five times as much on television ads as the companies responsible for the fraction of Americans who desire to take the Chiefs and the points.
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I could go on, but dead horse, beat.
Just own it
Listen: This humblebragging about how “little” sports betting companies spend on TV advertising is ineffectual at best, open to interpretation (and misinterpretation) at worst.
Maybe instead of boasting about being less visible than pharmaceuticals, the industry should focus on responsible messaging in the ads they do run and acknowledge their growing presence in American media culture. That recent DraftKings commercial — the “know when to fold ‘em one” — is a good example of doing just that.
So yes. Big Pharma has 38 times more advertisements out there than sportsbooks. This is not something to be proud of. It’s just … something.
Oh, and let’s not forget sports betting isn’t being advertised in Texas and California, home to more than 20% of America’s population. Can you imagine what the ad spend on TV would be if they flipped the switch tomorrow? “Much higher” is the correct answer for those playing at home.