Proliferation Of Gambling Advertising The Focus Of Expert Panel

Former New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck noted on Monday that he was struck — while watching a Duke vs. Florida State men’s basketball game a few days earlier on the Atlantic Coast Conference network — how many commercials he saw promoted the Hard Rock casino brand.

“Then I realized, it’s Florida State – and Hard Rock has a monopoly on gambling in Florida,” Rebuck told the audience at the Seton Hall Law School Gaming Law, Compliance, and Integrity Bootcamp in Newark.

“It’s truly concerning that there may be an undue influence on its student body,” Rebuck added of a viewing audience that includes many under the legal gambling age of 21, given the Seminole tribe’s partnership with Hard Rock that makes it the lone avenue for legal gambling at the casino companies’ retail properties or on its website in that state.

Rebuck said that the NCAA and its universities and conferences could consider if they really want this advertising to take place during the televising of their games.

The comment came as part of a panel discussion on the role of the media regarding responsible gaming and advertising.

B.J. Schecter, the executive director of Seton Hall’s Center for Sports Media, said the issue raised by Rebuck is a difficult one.

“I don’t blame the betting companies for doing this, and I don’t blame networks and media companies for taking that gambling advertising,” Schecter said. “ESPN has lost 45 million subscribers in the last 14 years, and they have to make up that income somewhere. We have to come together – all sides, with different perspectives – to get any real change.”

Balancing free speech

Rebuck, Schecter, and fellow panelist Cathy Judd-Stein, the former director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, suggested that all interested parties – including the media – should take into consideration how to handle this daunting issue.

Rebuck said that while he would like to see media companies serve as part of the solution, he recognizes that their First Amendment rights are paramount.

“I still feel that they could have a role to play in being a partner in efforts to reduce the risks to the public,” Rebuck said, adding that he would like to see media companies weigh in on regulators’ responsible gambling approaches.

“Give us an opinion – is what regulators are trying to do going to work?” Rebuck asked. “We need their help to get a sense of whether what is being done is perhaps not that effective.”

Judd-Stein further broadened the framework as she recalled seeing a Saturday Night Live skit last year that parodied inept advertisements by “touts” claiming to offer sure-thing gambling predictions.

She said that upon reflection, the otherwise amusing scene can be seen as a missed opportunity, because the program could have laid out a powerful message if, at the end of the skit, the screen had faded to black and then informed the audience of how to reach out for help from responsible gambling sources.

“I’m not saying that [the show] did anything wrong,” Judd-Stein said, while wishing that SNL had considered taking another step further.

Rebuck said that it is important for young people to learn how to gamble responsibly, given the barrage of advertising during sporting events on television.

“The outreach needs to come to college-age students – not just athletes – and the colleges are just not doing it,” Rebuck said.

He added that he recalls seeing another sporting event that featured ads from an illegal gambling offshore site, noting that those involved in approving such ads often are not even aware that the sites are unregulated.

“That’s another group that needs to be at the table if we are going to be successful,” Rebuck said.

Judd-Stein said that while she is comfortable with the standards Massachusetts has set for gambling advertising, those regulations do not apply to nationally-televised events.

Rebuck said that it has been difficult for regulators to keep up with a rapidly-changing advertising environment. He recalled that less than 15 years ago, the only gambling ads that his agency had to monitor was brick-and-mortar Atlantic City casino newspaper advertising and the occasional television commercial.

Schecter said that as the father of two teenagers, “it scares me” how easily accessible any information is that interests that age group – potentially including gambling data.

Part of the solution, Schecter said, is to educate young people under age 18 so that when they reach age 21 to gamble, they better understand the risks involved.

Rebuck asked if the media would be willing to uphold a standard that recognizes that “like any other vice, with gambling, some will falter.”

He noted that search-industry giant Google has announced that it will put new standards in place regarding gambling advertising, which Rebuck said leaves him “cautiously optimistic” that the changes will be a positive result in terms of consumers being bombarded by gambling advertising.

Judd-Stein said that regulators and gaming company operators need to collaborate even further than they already do to ensure that the public is protected. She lauded Ohio regulators for not permitting advertising of the “no-sweat bet” style of misleading variety of promotions, leading other states to do so as well.

She also applauded the Canadian province of Ontario for not allowing any active athlete or celebrity with a large youth following to promote gambling – but also allowing those same individuals to publicly support responsible gambling concepts.