The legalization of sports betting in the country has led to an explosion in gambling ad spending since 2018.
Disqo released research that found US sports betting ad spending to reach $2 billion in 2023, representing an 8% year-over-year increase.
Prior to 2018, Nevada was the only US state that offered legal sports betting, but a Supreme Court ruling has given individual states the right to decide whether it should be legalized. Currently, sports betting is legal in 37 states.
While no one really knows how regulatory and competitive pressures will affect the industry in three to five years, it’s clear that sports betting is here to stay and will continue to grow aggressively, said Patrick Egan, director of research and insights at Disqo.
According to the survey, betting companies such as BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel are testing new ways to gain business from existing players, as well as attracting newbies. Additionally, 32 million adult Americans are expected to place a bet online by 2025, which is a 39% increase from 2022.
Despite being legal, the US public seems to have negative feelings towards gambling advertising e.g. According to Disqo, around 40% of respondents think US sports leagues could damage their reputation by partnering with gambling brands, while another 30% believe celebrities and TV networks are at risk of doing so. same.
Gambling in the US is closely associated with the NFL, with 80% of gambling brands’ annual TV ad spend allocated to the American football league. During the 2022 NFL season, betting companies accounted for 5% of all TV ad impressions in the first few weeks of the tournament.
