Responsible marketing code for sports betting
By Dan Iliovici, Vice-President ROMBET
The AGA and its members pledge to uphold responsible marketing practices for sports wagering as legalized sports betting expands across the United States
The American Gaming Association (AGA) represents the U.S. casino industry, including commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers, and other affiliated entities.
Members of the American Gaming Association (AGA) developed this code to set the industry standard for traditional and digital marketing and advertising of sports wagering. To ensure consumer protections are holistically applied, marketing and advertising of real-money sports wagering services—conducted by both AGA and non-AGA members—shall adhere to the following standards:
Respecting the legal age for sports wagering
- No sports betting message should be designed to appeal primarily to those below the legal age for sports wagering by depicting cartoon characters or by featuring entertainers or music that appeal primarily to audiences below the legal age within the jurisdiction.2 Nor should any message suggest or imply that underage persons engage in sports wagering.
- Sports wagering advertisements should not be placed in media outlets (including social media) that appeal primarily to those below the legal age for sports wagering, nor should they be displayed at an event venue where most of the audience at many of the events at the venue is reasonably expected to be below the legal age for sports wagering.
- No sports wagering messages—including logos, trademarks, or brand names—should be used or licensed for use on clothing, toys, games, or game equipment intended primarily for persons below the legal age for sports wagering. To the extent that promotional products carry sports wagering messages or brand information, AGA members and their employees will use commercially reasonable efforts to distribute them only to those who have reached the legal age for sports wagering.
- Sports wagering should not be promoted or advertised in college or university-owned news assets (e.g., school newspapers, radio or television broadcasts, etc.) or advertised on college or university campuses.
Supporting responsible gaming
- Messages will not promote irresponsible or excessive participation in sports wagering.
- Each message will contain a responsible gaming message, along with a toll-free help line number where practical.
- No message should suggest that social, financial or personal success is guaranteed by engaging in sports wagering. Nor should any message imply or suggest any illegal activity of any kind.
- Messages should adhere to contemporary standards of good taste that apply to all commercial messaging, as suits the medium or context of the message.
Controlling digital media and websites
- Messages placed in digital media—including third party internet and mobile sites, commercial marketing emails or text messages, social media sites, and downloadable content—shall comply with all applicable provisions of this Code concerning the content of such messages.
- Each website that includes advertising or marketing materials should include a responsible gaming message and a link to a site that provides information about responsible gaming and responsible gaming services.
- Owned websites or profiles that include sports betting content, including social media pages and sites, shall include a reminder of the legal age for sports wagering. Age affirmation mechanisms, utilizing month, day, and year of birth, will apply before a user can gain access to any page where individuals can engage in gambling.
- The AGA will provide to managers of parent control software the names and website addresses of all member-company websites that enable consumers to wager on sports.
- Owned websites will include geolocation mechanisms on those pages where individuals can engage in gambling, in order to screen any individuals who reside in jurisdictions that have not legalized sports wagering.
- User-generated content on an owned site or web page will be monitored and moderated on a regular basis for compliance with the provisions of this code.
- Digital marketing communications will respect user privacy and comply with all applicable legal privacy requirements including those governing consent. All such messages targeting an individual recipient will be clearly identified as originating from the sports betting operator or otherwise attributable to the operator. In addition, each such message sent via email or text message will provide the option therein of opting out or unsubscribing.
- Owned websites shall disclose to users—in their terms of use or other policy statements—any practices of the website that involve sharing user information with third parties unrelated to the operator sponsoring the site.
Monitoring Code Compliance
- The AGA will offer biannual training opportunities for members and employees of members involved in the advertising or marketing of sports wagering services.
- AGA members will provide training on the provisions of this code, including periodic refreshers and updates, to all individuals involved in the advertising or marketing of sports wagering services.
- AGA members will deliver a copy of this code to advertising agencies, media buyers, and other third parties involved in the member’s advertising or marketing.
- AGA members shall adopt an internal review process to evaluate whether promotional and marketing messages comply with this code, and will conduct periodic reviews of promotional and marketing messages to evaluate compliance with this code.
- The commitments in this code apply to persons or entities operating in partnership with or as agents of AGA members in conducting advertising and marketing activity related to sports betting.
(to be continued in the next issue of Casino Life & Business Magazine)
