The Wall Street Journal reports two U.S. Senators are working on a bipartisan effort to protect children from gambling ads.
Sports betting and other forms of gambling are now legal across most of the U.S., and more than half of men ages 18 – 49 report having an active sportsbook account online. Arkansans wagered a record $86.5 million in March alone this year. But evidence shows teens and young adults may be getting hooked on sports betting through predatory advertisements.
The proposed Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement (GAME) Act by U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R — Alabama) and Richard Blumenthal (D — Connecticut) would prohibit social media platforms and other websites from advertising sports betting to children and teens.
We have written in the past how some sportsbooks have actually produced ads that seem to promote compulsive gambling and other problem-gambling behavior.
For example, in 2024, FanDuel released one commercial that showed people so focused on sports betting that they ignored everyone else around them.
Another ad promoted taking advantage of every opportunity to gamble.
Last year, FanDuel aired commercials encouraging people to gamble on “surprising” hunches — including powerful hunches that strike between football plays.
More recent commercials advertise “playoff mode” with aggressive promotional offers like hundreds of dollars in “bonus bets.”
The ads may seem silly, but gamblers who ignore loved ones, wager nonstop, or place bets “on a hunch” quite possibly suffer from a gambling problem.
We have said before that placing reasonable restrictions on advertising is one thing Arkansas could do to address predatory gambling. It’s good to see congressional leaders taking this issue seriously as well.
Sports betting is corrupting sports and ruining lives. The NFL and sportsbooks have actually faced lawsuits over the harm from gambling addiction and in-game micro-bets.
As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for policymakers to protect its citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise gambling addiction will simply continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
