Sportsbooks Still Use Aggressive Advertising

Gambling,

Popular online sportsbooks still use aggressive marketing tactics that seem to promote reckless gambling.

Gambling has exploded in recent years, and studies show large segments of the population now have an active sportsbook account online. But some are concerned that online gambling and sports betting may fuel gambling problems.

For example, sportsbook Bet365 has a TV spot advertising eight-leg parlays. Parlays combine multiple wagers — like passing yards and total points — into a single bet. Their long odds give the sportsbook a distinct advantage, which can hurt people who suffer from problem gambling.

FanDuel has 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.

FanDuel has also aired commercials encouraging people to gamble on “surprising” hunches — including powerful hunches that strike between football plays.

The ads may seem silly, but gamblers who ignore loved ones, wager nonstop, or place bets “on a hunch” may suffer from a serious gambling problem.

Other recent commercials advertise “playoff mode” with aggressive promotional offers like hundreds of dollars in “bonus bets.” Bonus bets, risk-free bets, deposit matches, or similar promotions may encourage people to place larger wagers, which could ultimately fuel problem gambling.

Sports betting and other types of gambling are not harmless entertainment. Sports betting is predatory, and it’s growing.

A report from Common Sense Media earlier this year found 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 reported gambling in the past year. Among boys exposed to gambling content, 59% said the content appeared in their feeds without them seeking it out.

Researchers have repeatedly voiced concerns about sports advertisements that aggressively target young adults.

Internet gambling makes placing a bet as easy as sending a text — especially when it comes to sports betting.

Bankruptcy attorneys across the country say online sports betting is driving a surge in personal bankruptcies — especially among young men in their 20s and 30s.

Researchers at UCLA estimate that online sportsbooks are linked to roughly 30,000 additional bankruptcies per year nationwide, and a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that states with legal mobile sports betting have seen credit delinquency rates spike — especially among borrowers under 40.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem, and sportsbooks have a responsibility to be sure their marketing and promotions do not make that problem worse.

Family Council has prepared a list of practical steps Arkansas could take to address predatory gambling.

As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it is important for Arkansas to protect its citizens and families. 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.

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Unpacking Attorney General Griffin’s Lawsuit Against Snapchat

Social Media,

Earlier this summer, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Snap — owner of the popular social media platform Snapchat — alleging the company deliberately designed its app to attract and addict teenagers, while publicly claiming the platform was safe for young users.

The lawsuit alleges Snap violated state laws against deceptive trade practices.

Nearly all American teenagers use social media, and about one in three teens say they use it “almost constantly.”

Snapchat is a messaging app that lets users send photos and videos — called “Snaps” — that automatically disappear after being viewed. As of 2026, the platform boasts an estimated 493 million active daily users.

But the social media app has been at the center of multiple controversies regarding sexting and grooming.

In a lawsuit filed on June 23, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin alleges Snapchat exploits young users and exposes them to dangers like “sextortion rings, predatory grooming, violent content, illegal drug marketplaces, unrealistic beauty standards, and an untested My AI chatbot that delivers dangerous and inappropriate advice to minors.”

The attorney general’s team says Snap has failed to provide “even basic safeguards”:

“Snap is among the worst and most egregious offenders of all social media companies. Contrary to popular belief, Snapchat is not a neutral communication tool; it is a digital drug dealer that targets our children. Snapchat is an addictive product, deliberately engineered to manipulate attention and psychological behavior, particularly in teens and preteens. Behind this devastating reality lies a deliberate and calculated business model: Snap has engineered its platform to create addiction in our children to maximize profits over people regardless of the impact on our communities and families.

“Snapchat has evolved into a platform built to capture attention, deepen dependency, and keep minors online for as long — and as often — as possible. And it works, especially on Arkansas children. In every relevant metric — Snaps seen, Snaps sent, time spent on the app, and more — Arkansas youth surpass the national average.

“As a direct result, Snapchat shapes how children communicate, how they relate to peers, and how they see themselves, all while exposing them to serious, predictable, and entirely avoidable risks.

“That compulsive use also translated directly into concrete psychological harms.”

Attorneys for Snap have filed motions to move the case from state court to federal court, but the attorney general’s team is working to keep the case in state court.

The lawsuit against Snap is similar to other lawsuits Attorney General Griffin has filed against social media companies.

In 2023, Attorney General Griffin sued Meta — the company that owns Facebook and Instagram — for intentionally designing its social media platforms “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time.” The A.G. says this exploitation is especially harmful for young users with developing brains.

The lawsuit against Meta was recently resolved as part of a $17 billion settlement that Meta reached with dozens of attorneys general from around the country.

In 2023, Attorney General Griffin also filed two lawsuits against ByteDance — the company that owns TikTok. Those legal complaints call the TikTok app “a Chinese ‘Trojan Horse’ unleashed on unsuspecting American consumers.” They highlight how TikTok fails to protect private user data and argue that TikTok’s algorithm “force-feeds” objectionable content to users — including “illegal drug use, sex, violence, and self-harm.”

The A.G.’s team says that TikTok deceptively labeled its app as being appropriate for ages 13 and up when it really should have been rated 17+. Attorney General Griffin’s office is still actively pursuing its lawsuits against TikTok in Arkansas court.

A growing body of evidence shows that social media platforms may deliberately addict users, promote objectionable content, and put people’s personal information at risk. Parents need to understand what these platforms may be doing to children.

Social media platforms are more than just phone apps or websites.

These are multibillion-dollar businesses with CEOs, boards of directors, investors, and development teams. The adults who profit from these businesses need to be held accountable when they harm innocent people — especially teens.

Children deserve proactive protection online. If tech companies won’t protect children, then voters and policymakers must.

Family Council is not aware of any attorney general in America who is doing more to hold social media giants accountable and protect children online than Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. We hope our courts will continue to do their part to hold these companies accountable as well.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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