Penton: Gambling advertising getting out of control
By Bruce Penton
Data about cigarettes causing cancer eventually resulted in tobacco advertisements being banned from print and electronic media, but will the data about lives being ruined by gambling addiction eventually force governments to ban the media distribution of gambling ads?
Probably not, because the amount of money involved is enormous and some of the major media outlets in the United States are not only profiting from those advertisements, but they’re involved with betting outlets as co-partners.
Ever tried to put the toothpaste back into the tube? That’s where the world is at with sports gambling and it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.
(Full disclosure: Your correspondent gambles on sports, in nickel-and-dime fashion, and while a mini addiction has probably developed, my financial stability is not at stake.)
One can’t turn on a televised sports event without seeing gambling firms urging fans to bet this, parlay that, take the under….will your favourite team cover a 7.5-point spread? Television networks reportedly collected $434 million in sportsbook commercials in 2024. So, as theorized by columnist Colby Hall of Mediate.com, networks aren’t covering the rise in problem gambling, which statistically is growing more among young men, “because they’re getting paid not to.”
When there is huge money involved in anything — millions and billions — organized crime can’t be far behind. The recent criminal charges filed against three National Basketball Association figures also involved four New York-based crime families.
If a point guard for a small college in Utah can be guaranteed a mob-related cash payment of a couple of thousand dollars for intentionally going “under” on his posted point total for a game in mid-January, what would stop a pro hoopster from agreeing to do the same for a couple of hundred thousand dollars?
Don’t think it’s not happening. Toronto Raptors Jontay Porter lost his NBA career after getting a lifetime ban for doing just that; gamblers were informed pre-game that he would bow out of a game, claiming injury, in the first quarter, guaranteeing that his point total would be under a certain number. Those in on the scam laid down big money on Porter’s position, and cashed in even bigger.
Recently, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncy Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were implicated in gambling-related endeavours, adding to the ever-growing list of athletes caught up in the idea of making big money the easy, illegal way.
Betting on sports events has long been a common way of life in Europe, but it was generally illegal in North America until the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2018 it would allow states to regulate sports betting. In Canada, betting on sports events has been allowed even longer, as provincial lottery bodies have run Sport Select and other similar games.
Guaranteeing the elimination of criminal activity surrounding sports betting is folly. Bettors are more likely to ask themselves, however, ‘am I playing a legitimate game or has the result been predetermined?’
Super 70s Sports back when O.J. Simpson was a football broadcaster: “Let’s go down to the sideline for a report from O.J. who appears to be wearing his murder gloves now so everybody be careful down there.”
Headline at theonion.com: “NBA Reaffirms Commitment To Gamblers Only Ruining Their Lives Legally”
Jack Finarelli on his sportscurmudgeon.com site, lamenting the overuse of the phrase ‘hostile environment’ when referred to a visiting sports team: “A hostile environment is Gaza City in the summer of 2025.”
Columnist Norman Chad: “MLS has been thriving for 30 years, making headlines, crowning champions, building rivalries… and somehow I’ve spent the exact same 30 years blissfully unaware it even existed.”
Headline at fark.com: “Steelers safety fined $5K for a) Illegal hits; b) Skipping media availability; c) wearing a black towel instead of a white one.” (Answer: C)
Comedy guy Torben Rolfsen of Vancouver: “I’m not sure about the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy (when all 32 teams played on the same night). It sounds like margarita night at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun.”
Columnist Norman Chad: “Somehow, the Dodgers' World Series title has induced Astros fans on X to complain about LA's team payroll. Let’s review the Astros’ 2017 World Series season: ‘We didn't cheat.’ ‘Well, we cheated but others did too.’ ‘It didn’t help us that much and we would've won anyway.’”
Headline at the onion.com: “Barry Bonds reveals asterisk has spread throughout body.”
Another onion.com headline: “Arch Manning Running Out Of Polite Ways To Decline Eli’s Mentorship”
Comedy guy Brad Dickson of Omaha: “My grandmother Mabel Micek, 106, on why she still enjoys sitting in the stands at Husker home football games: ‘It's the only place I go where I'm around people my own age.’”
Headline at fark.com: “All 30 teams to be represented at the first MLB Open golf tournament. In other news, the Dodgers have signed Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Shooter McGavin.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca