Calls for steps to control problem gambling have risen with the expansion of sports betting. One of those steps involved efforts to minimize the frequency of ads touting sports betting.
In 2023, the push to control advertisements paid off as the numbers dropped 21 percent for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prohibition of sports betting in 2018.
Spending hit a high of $1.4 billion in 2022, based on a study from Nielsen commissioned by the American Gaming Association trade group.
The drop in spending may be related to losses incurred by sportsbooks and a drop in stock prices. The cuts in marketing spend took root in the latter half of 2022 as investors clamored for companies to make a profit.
TV ranks as the source of more than half the advertising spend, Nielsen said. Still, sports betting amounts to less than a percent of the national advertising expenditure, according to the AGA.
Sportsbooks may have incurred losses, but state tax revenue from sportsbooks did not drop.
Last year proved to be an exceptionally good year on that score. According to an analysis by LendingTree, wagering tax revenue in the United States rose 34.7 percent.
An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau state tax revenue indicates that sports betting went from $1.8 billion in 2022 to almost $2.5 billion in 2023.
The Gaming Today sports betting revenue tracker revealed that tax revenue to date in 2024 exceeds $636 million, from 33 jurisdictions.
Other findings from the LendingTree report:
- In 2023, New York raked in $876 million in sports betting tax revenue, tops in the U.S. The amount rose 24.1 percent over 2022.
- Nineteen states had double-digit growth in sports betting tax revenue.
- Twelve states collected less sports betting tax in 2023 than in 2022, with Delaware experiencing the largest decline at 44.3 percent.
- Forty-four percent of Americans believe sports betting should be legal nationwide.
- Eighteen percent say it’s a state issue.
- Forty-seven percent are concerned about integrity in athletics because of sports betting.
- Fifteen percent don’t worry about that.
