Topic: The Detrimental Impact of Sports Betting on Genuine Sports Coverage (Read 254 times)

Advertisements by various gambling companies are almost regular in sports. Because they need money. Gambling companies pay the most money as sponsors of various leagues or teams. Although gambling advertisements are banned in some countries, they are only for the weak. Even in countries where gambling is banned, there is no problem with gambling advertisements for the influential. Gambling companies pay the most money to promote their companies to improve a league or a team. Even these advertisements will continue to increase in the future.

As a keen football enthusiast and somebody that has followed football over the years, I've hardly come across commentary on live games or discussions by presenters in a football match where they come and start discussing odds that are in favor of a particular club or against a particular club for betting purposes, what the analyst always do is to analyze the game properly by showing the strength of individual players and the advantages each club has over the other. However they can go for a break to advertise gambling companies that have so far been their sponsors, but coming on a live broadcast on a football match and start discussing odds is what I haven't witnessed as a football enthusiast.

I believe that gambling is also the reason that sports is popular especially football. Take away gambling from football then the hype will reduce because majority of those looking forward to such programs of sports and football pundits discussion are doing that because they want to also know the analysis and how to gamble next match with the analyst discussing their positions. So they are intertwined and radio or television houses are there to make money for the space or time they have given for such program, so they have to take adverts on gambling to make their money.

It is afterall about football gambling and not other business concerns or entity. So I don't see it as wrong doing, probably because you expect them to give more time to the discussion. Anyways, the internet is there for anyone to read about their sports concerns as the television or radio stations are also there to make profit.

This problem is inevitable due to technological advances and also because football matches have developed rapidly and football has become one of the most popular and most sought-after sports by everyone compared to other sports, this makes gambling companies take advantage of the opportunity to become sponsors to increase their customers without caring about the negative effects because this is a promising business.

And besides, currently many minors are fond of football and even take football courses or schools. And this problem will be identified that they will gradually plunge into the world of football betting, in addition to being able to increase knowledge about football and also the ease of accessing online gambling which makes many people even minors involved.

Those ads that pops out a
Or being displayed during those programs are just paid advertising which I clearly understand. I do read or what the program but if there's nothing that ever interest me during the sport coverage sessions, I can just look for something else to watch or instead watch previous matches that I missed.

Yep, if the teams didn't accept gambling funding, they will not able to compete with other big teams.

I think people are interested to watch podcast that talk sports, odds and the picks because it increase the excitement to know how good are the commentators predict the match.  You know, you're either a crown or a clown, if you prediction tend to correct, people will listen to you, otherwise they will avoid to bet the same prediction you made.

Football is the sport with the highest viewers, and sport in general is what most gamblers bet on, while football has the highest gamblers amongst all sports . Since casinos understand this, that's why they choose to sponsor these football clubs, so that in return, the club will promote the casino by putting their ad on their football jersey. It's a business strategy and a way get more customers. If you are not a gambler, I don't think that seeing those ads on football jerseys will make you a gambler overnight. You must have interest for gambling before you can be lured into it.

This is the reality of sports now. Sportsbook and casino are the one that contributes to the funding of every sports team to make the franchise alive because they need money for players salary. Match game tickets and other merchandise are already not enough as source of profit for the team that’s why seeking for sponsors is the best course for every team while casino are the best market to offer sports team.

If you hate gambling then just avoid podcast that talks about it that much. Clearly, listener is interested on gambling mixed to sports topic that’s why it’s always being use by different podcast.

Running a club or streaming sports is getting expensive, steaming services pays in millions to get the streaming rights as well as the salary of players is getting higher for that they need lots of sponsorship and partners which is why they are collaborating with each other for their own benefits.

It doesn't annoy me, I don't usually watch the pre-show or any other shows, just only the live game play and sometimes the highlights.

what you should understand is that sports analyst have seen the business behind what they are doing and so it will be unfair of them to just spend their time and resource in bringing you the analysis when they can do so and still get some commission from the promotion of some gambling related gig. football and sports event is now more of a business venture than pure reliance on the fun aspect of the game. most of these ads take less than a minute or at the most 30 seconds and they go on with the football analysis and the rest of whatever sports event that's being handled. for the most part, you don't even pay for subscription on those channels to make you feel that such ads shouldn't be allowed to be aired. that's their own way of making extra income and you just have to let it be and enjoy the part that relates to you.

Sports channels are being paid by the bet companies to advertise their sites, so for the sports channels it's a business for them, that is how they make their money. So instead of seeing the sports adverts as distractions for the discussions of football for instance, we should rather see them as inclusive features in sports programs. There's nothing much we can do about this, bet has come to be a part of popular sports like football, and the awareness is increasing. You should just ignore the adverts if you're not a gambling person because we're always going to be seeing them. It's a win win for the gambling sites and the sports channels, the channels makes money from the betting sites to advertise, while the bet companies gets more bettors to patronize them.

To be more precise, it is important to point out that the sports business depends for the most part of its income on another business that works in parallel, which is the advertising industry business. Many people believe that the largest part of the income comes from the revenues of tickets for matches and subscriptions, but this is not true. Without the advertising industry, the sports business would not have been able to exist at all. Or we can say that both the advertising and gambling fields depend on the various sports activities to achieve revenues, and in return, they contribute to the creation and development of the sports business, which has become generating huge revenues thanks to that.

Well, I think you have to get used to these types of things, because football has a lot of fans, and all or almost most of them like to adore, and these advertisements are sometimes business models that sport has, and as long as these things happen, they will continue to stop. to do things better, the longer the announcements will be, the more publicized they will be because that is what they live for, and they will not stop doing it, as I told you, everything or the Opposite, yes, it's okay, I know that sometimes it is a It's a little frustrating to hear everything that has to do with the advertising of sites, advertisements, but how do you do it , if thanks to that the money comes? so they are something that we cannot be fighting against that, in all aspects we will find advertising, in fact in Colombia when I am watching football on the same broadcast there is a lot of advertising and yes, it is very annoying sometimes when they score a goal they don't they don't shout goal because it's the advertising.

And that advertisement about the one who Keeps the TV and radio Channels on, all this allows that, and I have to appreciate that usefulness because in Colombia they narrate football in a very emotional way, that is something that I like a lot , for That's because I like that advertising, but also in all sports, like Baseball , Cycling , where I live they do a lot of Cycling Tours, a lot of tours, and listening to that on the radio is Knowing everything about the Businesses and advertising that exist , because that is what we see every time , and I would say, for that Reason it is that when you see protections, everything that has to do with advertising is generated like that, there is no other way than in the places that the transmit survive, because if you think about it, if these sites do not provide their advertising, the quality would go down, or it would not be transmitted, to the majority of advertisements from casinos, betting houses or businesses and individuals, those Advertisements cost something Expensive , so it is a Model Business that has Always existed and is now Developing even more.

If the leagues and organizations that are part of these sporting events are going to take care of their legacy, they have to make sure that they should think of the welfare of their younger audiences and fans. These kids are looking up to their idols but it's also pure business on them when they get sponsored by the casinos.

But on this internet age, even the young ones can gather access to the websites and pages that are only for adults.

Yeah, maybe it's not possible but might be with the help of AI like filtering these ads and have that dedicated channel podcast that are fine for the kids. I don't know if that's possible but with technology nowadays, maybe there's a way.

I wouldn't say that it's a detriment after all it's just a product placement at best and I don't think that it can affect the game in anyway and let's face it, even if these companies aren't allowed to do this, someday someone will find a loophole to promote their brands on sports and that's the truth, they'll always find a way. Another thing about this is the fact that with this brand placements, they're also funding the paychecks of the players in that team and making it function as a club or whatever organization it is, sadly we don't live in a utopia where someone can just ask for what they need and it's human nature to have more than his neighbor so it's a matter of practicality and reality that these advertisements are placed on the players' jerseys, the only way that we can stop this product and service placement is if we stop using their services or products totally so no matter how much they advertise and pay these players money to promote their brand, they would still be at a loss.

Ads can be very annoying sometimes especially when it is displayed repeatedly during an interesting program. Like this rightly said, ads and adverts from casinos dominates this space especially in any sports show. Even though this might appear boring and annoying sometimes, you have to understand that it is purely business for the host of those shows and programs.

Unless you use ads blocker, you will not completely avoid seeing such ads even if you want to only follow the news on news platforms. That one is even more annoying to me than the short adverts in TV and talk shows. Website adds sometimes will force you to visit the casinos website at any click of the mouse. Like I said before, I consider the entire thing as a way the host remain in business so I try to keep my sanity intact.

There is nothing to do against these gambling ads, IMO.  These gambling companies are one of the people behind the scenes that are pumping money into their chosen team.  I do not think that it affects the sports itself directly, and when it comes to sports coverage, it is the anchor or the news company that is at fault since they do not know how to separate the event discussion and their gambling sponsors' advertisement.

I think gambling and sports have been deeply rooted together ever since ancient history, it is that sports coverage is bolder in advertising their gambling sponsors during their live coverage now a day.  I think we need to accept the fact that sports coverage have changed and will continue to advertise gambling company.


I think one cannot separate gambling ads and sports discussion during a live podcast, it is that if one is to involve gambling in the discussion, one should limit the audience to the adult only entrants,

They're kids, they easily and quickly adapts to everything seen online. They become desperate to know something that have to do with betting, that's were we come in as guardians. Never allow your kid to be in a position to gamble, I totally understand how everything like this works but it shouldn't stop us from educating our kids. Teaching them gambling and also providing the implications when one gamble, inculcate that fear of gambling in them, those that are discipline and straightforward knows exactly what their parents are trying to do, and the results that will finally play out.

Makes sense. When sports always bring up gambling, it makes people especially kids think that betting is a big part of enjoying the game. We might need a separate section in these shows just for talking about the sport without all the betting stuff. That way, kids can focus on the game and dream about being like their favorite players, instead of getting into gambling thoughts too early

The connection that the sports has got to gambling was sink in to everyone's mind and that's why with these talks, whenever you see games, the first thing to think about is what might be the odds.

I think that these organizations need to be careful as there are too many children idolizing these players, clubs/teams and sports.

They should have a section that's dedicated only for the sports discussion on how the game went or will be. Because these kids might be exposed to gambling at a young age instead of dreaming of how to be one of their idols when they grow up.

We are in a period where children can learn anything through the World Wide Web. So we shouldn't think that our children are not been exposed to gambling. We shouldn't also assume that exposing our children to gambling is a wrong parental strategy. I support Lida93's position that exposing our children to gambling and laying emphasis on some of its merits and demerits would help reduce the influence of the information they get from the media. If a parent teaches a youth about responsible and irresponsible gambling while also giving the child good advice on how to avoid gambling while underaged as well as how to avoid addiction, such a child will be better equipped to face these advertisements than someone who knows nothing about gambling. Children should be prepared to face society and the home is the first training ground while the parents are the trainers.

Be that as it may I still stand on my ground that if as parents you exposed the evil side of gambling to your children and bring them to light about their dangers even before the sport commentators or analysts get to them they won't be an easy prey to their gimmicks. It is ignorance on the side of the children about all these things that makes them fall for those ads therefore wanting to know what's behind the ads out of teens curiosity to unravel new things but when they are been brushed up about those ads and where it leads to prior to when they observe it I don't think it will generate any curiosity or enthusiasm to delve into it order than just enjoying the sport as a spectator.

You know these shows that you love so much, these footballers that receive hundred million dollar contracts, are partly funded by the gambling companies that you so despise? Nobody is forced into gambling, there are plenty of warnings and even built in self protection that they offer, but it is actually people who voluntarily - and greedily - hand over their money because they think they can get one up on these companies. All the odds are right out there in plain sight for anyone to see before they spend a penny, clearly stating that on average they are guaranteed to lose $3 out of every $100 that they play. If these advertisers were not there, then wages would get depressed and it would be funded by more oil money or any other source you can imagine.

This is a problem sports bets are bringing to the sporting industry. Sports activities are now synonymous with gambling because games are always bombarded with gambling advertisements. But we have to learn how to endure this distraction because most of these gambling firms are the major financiers of some sporting activities. One of my concerns is seeing these adverts even when children are watching these games. Some of these young sports fans might be exposed to gambling due to these advertisements. Maybe the government should be able to make laws that will restrict some of these ads because it is almost becoming uncontrollable. I don't think it is possible to avoid watching these sports shows because they also bring some level of entertainment.

When I saw those sponsors are powerful, they can impose cancel culture actually which is why even the NBA commentators are careful with what they are saying. This world is becoming very unhealthy for someone who just loves sports and is careless about what sponsors will think. These sponsors will even dictate which of their tweets should be deleted.

And yes the teens are going to be influenced by those ads. When they hear the commentators analyze betting odds, they will be curious and how it actually works.
If they wanna sound smart to their friends, this is the first they might want to talk about. Signing up is easy these days, every kid today already has an email and I think the bookmakers are targeting them too.

At this era of sports there is nothing we can do about it the advertisement will always surface because the gambling industry is now an integral part of the sport a major sponsor. All you can do is to ignore when those adverts are made or just look the other way. It is what it is.

  This is why parents shouldn't fumble from taking up their responsibility as parents to children. Tell your children what is right and wrong and the consequences that can follow from their unhealthy curiosity about those betting company adverts. When we tell our children about the evils of gambling as an underage we won't have to worry about them that much.

I am not against the sponsorships those teams and the sport books could get, but one also needs to be aware there will be people who just wish to enjoy the match and the sport as whole without having to engage in betting, Op is a good example of such group of people, who does not want their TV being bombarded constantly with that sort of content.
By the way, it is not a only about the perceived detriment all this could have on the sports and the way they are covered in general, but because of the intensive sponsorship some clubs have with sport books, it becomes easier for children and teen to see those advertisements on TV and allowing their curiosity to take over, they could end up signing up to a casino eventually.
I am okey with advertisement in the uniform of the players, also with ads on the sides of the stadium, but having hosts and commentators talking about odds instead other things, like the performance of the players or the strategies they have managed to pulled off during the match, to me, is going a little bit too far from what these matches are supposed to be about.
I can even imagine how big the next Football world cup will be in terms of advertisement and sponsorships, though I know it will be enjoy enjoyable regardless.

It has become quite a concern really, because it seems like the game of soccer was created just for these gambling sites and the Pundits. Hence why they have made it a constant act to take advantage of viewers or listeners to advertise betting/gambling odds and likely predictions or outcome of games during the sport programs they host and sponsor in more ways than one.

Since the economy has become constantly depressed and has seen more youths and adults who either indulge in sports by actively playing it or by betting/gambling on outcomes of matches being played, make a career out of it, more businesses and programs being aired over live TV or podcasts, would adopt this medium to market their gambling brands by showing knowledge of the game with predictions and analysis of  results as key points to dwell on from their sponsors.

The Op isn’t referring to the balancing of other sports, what he’s trying to say is the fact that sometimes commentators tends to deviate from what they are supposed to do and start talking about something that’s not related which is sponsors and the odds of the games and that’s not what viewers are there to listen to. As for the images the Op shared - I don’t see any issue with them if they have it printed all over them it’s fine but they should at least stick to what they were originally supposed to do and let gambling or odds sites do the gambling jobs they should mix maych commentating with gambling businesses that all I can say about it.

Lol... You seem really vexed with your observation of those sports programs on TV or radio. I guess you like football match more than other sports but you know certain amount of people also like either tennis, boxing, cricket, golf, basketball, formula 1, cycling etc, so there has to be balancing. It won't be a nice thing when their are tournament on some other sports and an analyst comes in to a program and only touches on football and doesn't say anything about other sports that are ongoing.

Even though football takes more attention in many of the sports programs but other people also deserve to hear something on their own cherished sports and its updates. So I think it is about balancing of the program and of course those programs are regulated and presenters must have to follow the director and not to do his own wish even if he also prefers football like you  

Sponsors today are so powerful that they can decide what the team has to do or what commentators have to say and not to say.  I can understand those guys including the podcasters sponsored by those betting sites have to earn money but getting in the way of stopping the show for their ads to be specifically mentioned by the host is pretty much exerting their influence to the fullest.

When there's too much competition for these bookmakers in the sports game, they will have to make a deal to make their company visible to the public to the point of buying the team itself.

I completely understand the frustration you feel regarding the penetration of gambling advertising that appears in almost every sports broadcast, so this may be quite disturbing to you. Viewers looking for content about sports, especially football, often find themselves annoyed by excessive gambling advertising, which can divert our focus from the main aspects of the sport itself.

But on the other hand, gambling platforms also have quite an important role in the world of sports, where gambling platforms are present to participate in supporting the sustainability and growth of the sports industry through sponsorship, advertising and partnerships that brands have established with several clubs and certain sports tournaments, including several media outlets. broadcast sports.

But it is true, that gambling advertising needs to be limited, so that the integrity and attractiveness of the sports industry is maintained, because not everyone likes gambling or betting, but almost everyone likes sports.

This is true. The level of sports we are seeing and enjoying at the moment are largely due to advertisement money involved. That is the money that translates to clubs and players. In this time of global sports, advertising is the only source of income for players, teams and organizers. The ticket price may cover the cost of keeping the stadium in order and nothing more.
If there were no gambling ads there would have been something else. The reason why gambling advertiser pay more for sports coverage is, all of its viewers are the target audience for sports betting. Personally, I don't listen to any pre-match, interval or post-match analysis. I get my info and stats from mobile apps. And I haven't encountered the commenter talk about gambling odds in mid play.

Not only the teams, but also athletes and championships are sponsored by determined betting houses. I don't understand very well why it happened suddenly in sports industry. Is it that betting houses offer superior sponsor rates, or is it that previous brands aren't interested in sponsoring sports matches anymore? I remember some years ago we have several brands from fast food and technology niches everywhere on athletes' uniforms, stadiums ads and on TV propagandas, but now it seems everything turns around betting houses.

A potential detrimental impact over sports I can imagine, is the fact it can lead to more frequent events of fixed matches, as the teams and players won't be exactly working to show performance and defeat their rivals, rather they will be working to benefit determined individuals who are engaged on gambling practice. However, the determining factor to conclude if it's going to happen or not, isn't the gambling industry sponsorship over sports industry, but the ethics of the people involved on these businesses. If we are talking about an ethical society, who respects laws and its fellow citizens, there isn't a detrimental impact after all.

Let's be frank, they need money to survive.

Most of top teams are rich, they won many leagues, they get sponsors and they can sign more strong players.

But mediocre teams that never become a champion will have a hard time to get sponsors, they can survive without accepting gambling sponsors, but they don't have money to buy good players, so there's a chance they could relegated to second tier leagues.

The increase in sport betting websites etc has been responsible for all this ads that we keep seeing in recent times.

Almost everyone want to be the top or wants more traffic than others so they pay people to put in there ads every where in the internet no just podcasts and others as you mention but almost every where. imagine making a transaction with a local bank app and you're seeing ads asking you to deposit and play it's insane this days.

I gamble but not always so I get pissed when I see this ads, the podcast which you mention are even hosted by this sport betting cooperations so how then do we stop them? it's just a matter of time we will get over it.

This is the new era of advertisement due to the popularity of online casino specifically sports betting. Teams, clubs and players keep playing due to their salary while their salary comes from the management who earn mostly now through the odds. Whether we like or not, Players will not play without salary which is why ads is now very aggressive especially gamblings that is directly involved the sports with their books.

Ads finance everything including news or podcast that’s why they are motivated to keep sharing insights. There’s some channel that provides premium services that removes ads but with exchange for extra payment. This is now the reality and I doubt they will cut it since it provides a huge source of income.

It will not be easy to avoid them. This is the new way of sports now, gambling is included with it.
Also, I bet those gambling companies are paying massive amounts of money just so they could be included in any discussions of the commentators.
The same with NBA, Fanduel, or other names. And when they finish advertising it, both commentators will start talking about the Over and Under, the line before the game started, handicaps, and it will continue until the end of the game.
I can say I already got used to it although I am against those because kids are probably watching and now they have an idea of what is happening or they will start asking their parents what those numbers are. It will be difficult to be in a position to answer all of those without mentioning the "gambling" word.

I don't think it's destroying the sports industry, more like boosting it, but again, what about the minors who are watching? There are no NBA Kids or Football Kids applications that are available like Youtube kids to filter those gambling ads.

I think that it's just matter of time and strict rules will be implemented or at least there will be less interest in these kind of "promotions".

If you think betting/gambling in sports have been heavily promoted only in the last few years.
I didn't remember something similar when I was young (50 + years ago).

Yes, it's true that we see all those gambling ads these days and in fact you can see those on clubs and grounds where matches take place. There's nothing one can do to stop those but I don't really think that they have any adverse impact on the sports that we enjoying viewing. They're just trying to promote sports betting and I don't think anything is wrong in that approach.

In fact those are somehow helpful for the ones who are good to judge the teams and such viewers might end up making some money if they place bets in favor of a winning team. I'm very sure that sports viewers know far more about a team than other gamblers and if they use that knowledge to place some bets then they could generate some revenue from those gambling sites.

^{Image: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/08/how-the-betting-industry-has-become-inextricably-linked-to-football}
I'm not opposed to sports betting, but I believe it's had a detrimental effect on sports, particularly football, which is immensely popular in my country.  It is with dismay that I have noticed that there is not a single sports show or podcast that doesn't have its listeners or viewers bombarded with gambling ads, "odds," and discussions about whether the line should be -3.5 or -2.5 by the pundits, hosts, and commentators.

What vexes me the most is that as a viewer or listener who tunes in to hear these individuals talk about the sport, the players, the clubs, and generally everything about the game, they instead spend the majority of their time diverting attention away from the sport their audiences actually care about.

Right now, I would rather read news commentary or simply lower my expectations of them. Totally insane.