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The Great Gambling Debate rears its head once again. For decades, no, for centuries in fact, gambling has been a huge topic of debate. In Ancient Greece it was lauded as a pastime and a way of settling disputes, but arguments still raged as to its place in society.
In recent history, gambling has swung from laissez-faire legislation to severe repression and back, once again, to a landscape of near widespread legalisation. Still, throughout all of those periods the debate has raged as to whether gambling is a net positive, or a net negative.
The latest argument to hit the headlines surrounds gambling advertisements, which have become as common place as power plays during NHL broadcasts. In between the on-ice action, viewers are been treated to adverts about sports betting, information about online casino bonuses and everything else in between.
There are some who see this advertising at worst as a necessary evil and at best, as a sign of a healthy, free market economy. On the other hand, critics argue that it is totally unnecessary and a sign of an unhealthy, unregulated economy.
Senate legislators have sided with the latter, reintroducing legislation to limit sports betting and online gambling advertising. Are they right? Read on to find out…
Gambling Isn’t Any Old Industry
There are pitfalls to buying a car. You can be misled by a salesperson or get carried away and spend a little bit more than you really should, but in the end, buying a car isn’t likely to have a catastrophic impact on you and your family.
Likewise, your love of reading or playing your favourite sport is not going to leave you with serious mental health complications.
When it comes to gambling though, financial ruin, relationship problems and mental health issues are all very real possibilities. That means that gambling companies have a greater duty of care and responsibility than book stores and car dealerships.
Gambling’s Duty of Care
In a libertarian’s ideal world, we should all be allowed to do what we want, how we want and when we want. In reality though, a certain level of government intervention is needed to ensure that people don’t fall into dangerous habits that can endanger themselves and people around them, such as drink driving.
When it comes to gambling, the deal between the state and the operators is that the individual companies will do everything they can to minimise the risk of problem gambling and criminal activity such as fraud.
If they don’t, they can have their gambling licences revoked. One example is the way in which gambling companies deal with problem gamblers. Online and offline providers are, for example, not allowed to advertise to players who have marked themselves through self-exclusion programs as problem gamblers.
The TV and Radio Grey Area
What then, is the difference between an email sent directly to your inbox and an advert beamed directly into your living room? Not much really, and that is the argument of senators and critics of sports betting advertisements.
People who have a gambling addiction should be able to watch the NHL or Premier League football without being constantly exposed to gambling adverts. Likewise, children should be able to watch their favourite sports without being exposed to wall to wall gambling adverts.
For years, TV and Radio adverts have managed to operate as a legal grey area in which gambling companies can operate outside of their traditional duty of care. Legislators have shone a light on that grey area recently.
Will This Ban Impact the NHL?
One long-term argument against this ban has been the financial repercussions that it will have on sports and the teams within those sports. Gambling companies pump huge amounts of sponsorship money into the NHL. The fear is that with these bans on advertising, the league and the teams in it will be left scrambling for cash, possibly adding it to the cost of tickets for loyal fans.
The same argument was used about alcohol and tobacco advertising in decades gone by, and as can be seen from the current good health of ice hockey, those arguments were proved to be untrue. The threat was overstated.
Just like with tobacco and alcohol, other industries stepped in to fill the void. Another will do the same now. NHL games generate on average, audiences of over a million Canadians. That type of exposure is hugely appealing and sponsors will not be hard to come by.
