The New York Gaming Commission has proposed tightened legislation on New York sports betting advertising, marketing and promotions – with a specific focus on underage individuals and college students.
The proposed new rules were passed unanimously by the commission, and are now to go through a sixty day public comment period following which the Commission will reconvene and consider potential amendments.
Critics of the amendments have said they do little to nothing in the grand scheme of things, and should have been included as common sense upon launch.
Under Section E, marketing to underage persons, there are six paragraphs aimed at addressing marketing that could encourage young bettors:
- Design
- Composition of audience
- Use of logos, trademarks and brandnames
- College and university media
- Depiction of underage persons
- Endorsement
Design
The new rules state that no advertisement encouraging sports wagering should be designed to primarily appeal to those below the legal age for sports wagering, ‘by depicting cartoon characters or by featuring entertainers or music that appeal primarily to audiences under the wagering minimum age.’
The problem here, is determining who or what appeals to a younger audience. Taking an example from the United Kingdom, a SkyBet advertisement featuring ex-footballer Micah Richards was reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (‘ASA’) for this exact breach.
The ASA ruled that Richards’ football playing career was of little significance, stating ‘they considered that he was more widely recognized as a football pundit than as a former footballer and that it was highly unlikely that his footballing career had generated sufficient residual appeal to reasonably describe him as being of strong appeal to children in 2022’. They added he did not have active public accounts on YouTube, TikTok or Twitch which are broadly considered to be used by a younger audience.
Composition of audience
This rule states simply that ‘sports wagering advertising and marketing shall not be placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print or digital communications where the reasonably foreseeable percentage of the composition of the audience that is persons under the minimum wagering age’, continuing ‘is greater than the percentage of the population in the State that is such age’.
Use of logos, trademarks and brand names in New York
No sports wagering messages including logos, trademarks of brand names shall be used or licensed for use on clothing, toys, games or equipment for minors. In addition, a licensee shall be required to make ‘commercially reasonable efforts’ to distribute such products only to those of legal age.
New York college and university media
Simply put, sports wagering shall not be promoted or advertised in college or university-owned news-assets, or advertised on campuses. The caveat is ‘except that generally available advertising that is not targeted to the area of a college or university campus’.
Depiction of underage persons
It is what it says on the tin – no advertisement for sports wagering should feature a person under the minimum wagering age.
Endorsement
Similar to above, the rule states ‘no advertisement for sports wagering shall state or imply an endorsement by a person under the minimum wagering age’.
All of the above rules would be considered by many as ‘common sense’. Whether or not any operators would have already been in breach has not yet been revealed. The emphasis on responsible gambling continues to ramp up, with Senate Bill 1550 and A1056 looking to ensure responsible gambling messages are featured on all adverts, and a new problem gambling advisory board to be set up in New York.
This is unlikely to do wonders for the New York online casino bill that Rep. Addabbo is looking to pass, considering the potential increased dangers of problem gaming associated with casino products.