tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/gambling-regulation-48161/articles
Gambling regulation – La Conversation
2023-12-15T17:46:50Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219974
2023-12-15T17:46:50Z
2023-12-15T17:46:50Z
As another lobbying scandal erupts in the Conservative party, are tougher rules finally on the horizon?
<p>Conservative MP Scott Benton has become the latest British politician to face suspension for breaking lobbying rules in what is becoming a regular cycle of scandals. Parliament’s committee on standards has recommended a <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42581/documents/211708/default/">35-day suspension</a> for Benton after he was alleged to have lobbied for the gambling industry and given company access to confidential government documents. </p>
<p>Benton is accused of leaking the government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">gambling white paper</a> ahead of publication, thereby handing over information about plans to bring in tighter regulations for the industry. Benton has said the parliamentary committee’s report into his behaviour contains “factually inaccurate” statements. He has said he <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/tory-mp-scott-benton-to-appeal-proposed-suspension-over-lobbying-scandal-13031094">will appeal</a> his proposed suspension and will make a formal complaint, accusing the committee of leaking the report to a journalist.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, newly appointed foreign secretary and former prime minister David Cameron carried out an array of activities during his stint out of office that are <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/12k-for-dinner-and-a-photo-david-camerons-lucrative-china-links-88mvkf785">potentially now contentious</a>.</p>
<p>The UK lobbying industry is the third largest in the world, with more than <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526117250/#:%7E:text=By%20Raj%20Chari%2C%20John%20Hogan%2C%20Gary%20Murphy%20and%20Michele%20Crepaz&text=Unlike%20any%20book%2C%20it%20offers,situating%20each%20political%20system%20therein.">4,000 lobbyists</a> in and around Westminster and Whitehall. But it has some of the weakest <a href="https://theconversation.com/david-cameron-and-greensill-this-toothless-regulator-is-absurdly-easy-to-sidestep-158914">regulation</a>. Major scandals have regularly punctuated British politics since the 1990s and lobbying has turned into a continual, rolling controversy. </p>
<p>Despite the many democratic benefits it brings, the word “lobbying” has come to represent, as political scientist Wyn Grant put it, the <a href="https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781526126689/Lobbying-Dark-Side-Politics-Pocket-1526126680/plp">“dark side of politics”</a> in Britain.</p>
<h2>Attempts at reform</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pa/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pa/gsad024/7424527">latest research</a>, we document calls for more stringent rules in the past two decades, both from within and outside parliament. And while there have been gradual moves towards tighter regulation and more openness about lobbying activity, many complain these <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubadm/888/report.html">haven’t gone far enough</a>. </p>
<p>The problem is that the principle of self-regulation – the idea that politicians can “look after themselves” – has continually won out. Promises of radical change are almost always watered down and diluted.</p>
<p>Cameron symbolises the problem that politicians who try to change the system are also the ones who stand to benefit from not changing it at all. He came into power in 2010 promising to clean up the “too cosy” and “secret” links between money and politics, and then passed a series of reforms that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41309-019-00074-9">were criticised</a> for being insufficient. </p>
<p>These reforms provided a rather weak <a href="https://orcl.my.site.com/CLR_Search">register of consultant lobbyists</a>, which only captures, by some estimates, <a href="https://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/liftthelid">around 1% of those involved</a>. This sits alongside a gradually strengthening <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/registers-of-interests/register-of-members-financial-interests/">register of financial interests</a>, which has existed <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/register-members-financial-interests">since the 1970s</a>.</p>
<p>Once out of office, Cameron then turned lobbyist, chasing ministers on behalf of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/11/greensill-the-scale-of-david-camerons-lobbying-texts-revealed">supply chain finance company Greensill</a> amid the most intense period of the pandemic emergency. The Treasury select committee <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/20/david-cameron-showed-significant-lack-of-judgment-on-greensill-inquiry-finds">argued</a> that Cameron’s texts to ministers for Greensill displayed a “significant lack of judgement”. The committee found he did not break lobbying rules, but that this reflected on the “insufficient strength of the rules”.</p>
<p>Cameron then spent several years <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/12k-for-dinner-and-a-photo-david-camerons-lucrative-china-links-88mvkf785">working the speaking</a> circuit in China before returning to be foreign secretary. </p>
<h2>A new approach</h2>
<p>In the wake of the lobbying perma-crisis that was Boris Johnson’s government, lobbying rules for MPs <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/290/committee-on-standards/news/186452/new-code-of-conduct-for-mps-launched-today/">have been tightened</a>. In the summer of 2023, after much delay, the government promised a new “single platform” for data, new monthly publications and more detail on “hidden” or “anonymous” lobbying. While these were welcomed, many concerns remained, as with past reforms, over the <a href="https://www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/article/do-the-governments-proposals-on-standards-and-integrity-go-far-enough">scope and strength of the changes</a>. </p>
<p>Ideally, lobbying regulation works in two ways: through anticipation, by making politicians feel watched, thereby deterring poor behaviour, or by accountability, by catching them out if they do cross a line. A good lobbying system should be part of an ever-expanding ecosystem, working alongside other tools to “clean up politics”, such as freedom of information laws, open data initiatives or whistleblowing regulations.</p>
<p>Despite continual pressure for reform, the UK is far from this ideal. Waves of half-finished change mean the present system is too narrow in scope, lacks transparency and has weak accountability and sanctioning powers.</p>
<p>If elected, Labour has promised a <a href="https://www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/what-could-a-uk-integrity-and-ethics-commission-look-like/">new ethics and integrity commission</a>, which would draw together the diverse instruments and bodies that already exist, with stronger powers. Not all the details are clear but this would involve creating an independent body on a statutory footing, a five-year ban on former ministers lobbying, and stronger sanctions when rules are broken. </p>
<p>Many bodies involved will be put on a statutory basis, giving them stronger sanctioning and investigative powers. Taken together, Labour argues the new system would “clean up politics” and “create robust protections”. </p>
<p>We’ll be able to see that this reform is finally working if we start to see proper sanctions of sufficient strength being meted out – and with enough publicity to send a clear signal to anyone involved in lobbying and pushing the limits of acceptability.</p>
<p>Lobbying also needs better, joined up, easier-to-access data. Both the Conservatives and Labour have committed to this – but promises aren’t data. At present, lobbying data is scattered across more than 20 websites, and is used only by a few specialist journalists and NGOs. It could be useful to many more people if it were better organised, making monitoring easier, and potentially empowering more groups to become involved, with greater continuous effect. It could look something like the <a href="https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/sky-news-and-tortoise-team-up-for-data-project-on-funding-of-british-politics/s2/a998844/">mapping tool</a> created by Sky News and Tortoise Media to help people understand how politics is funded. </p>
<p>The public supports <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/35473-61-think-it-unacceptable-ex-ministers-work-compani">stronger regulation</a>, as do the <a href="https://www.cipr.co.uk/Good-Lobbying">lobbyists themselves</a>. But – crucially – politicians need to support, champion and enthuse about lobbying laws rather than be dragged towards compliance or complain when they are caught out.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Crepaz received funding from the Irish Research Council to conduct research on transparency and lobbying. He is an affiliated scholar at The Good Lobby. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Worthy previously received funding from the Leverhulme Trust to study data and the monitoring of MPs. He is
a member of the UK Open Government Network Steering committee.
</span></em></p>
Scott Benton was able to lobby for the gambling industry despite reforms introduced by David Cameron when in office.
Michele Crepaz, Vice Chancellor Illuminate Fellow, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast
Ben Worthy, Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck, University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212748
2023-09-25T12:30:23Z
2023-09-25T12:30:23Z
How AI and AR could increase the risk of problem gambling for online sports betting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548329/original/file-20230914-4201-fye76e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C10%2C950%2C655&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-using-online-sports-betting-services-1118068061">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sometimes <a href="https://features.propublica.org/the-bad-bet/video-gambling-addiction-illinois/">referred to</a> as the “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.00962.x?casa_token=PmOh6ayRJSIAAAAA:1nk6oodUvcH1n6R44hO0y_9jAnAcT63AALXLrhjxBrBmjZl68msFlJPS40LbDMJqUeJRlM5bMBX86w">crack cocaine of gambling</a>”, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) such as slot machines allow bets to be placed as quickly as <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1173441/Online_Slots_Stake_Limit_Impact_Assessment.pdf">once every 2.5 seconds</a>, delivering a <a href="https://researchmgt.monash.edu/ws/portalfiles/portal/41513137/40136523_oa.pdf">rapid and immersive</a> gambling experience. Similar features are now being used to transform online sports betting, significantly increasing the risk of problem gambling.</p>
<p>Sports betting is one the UK’s <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/statistics-on-participation-and-problem-gambling-for-the-year-to-march-2023">most popular</a> forms of gambling. Traditionally, people have placed sports bets in the same way they play the national lottery: betting on the final result of a match or race during the week and often waiting until the weekend to discover the outcome of the event. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2023.2241350">our recent research</a> indicates that the online environment has massively transformed sports betting. It has now become instantly accessible, offering a multitude of features and betting options that pose a significantly greater risk of addiction than in the past. </p>
<p>And with technology rapidly advancing, the future of sports betting could be even more worrying as gambling companies look to artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to enhance their offerings.</p>
<p>More harmful sports betting has been linked to <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/10/3/article-p371.xml">new features</a> that are similar to those found in EGMs. Countless “in-play” and “micro” sports bets can now be placed on the shortest intervals within a sporting event, such as a bet on the next free kick in football. Although not quite as fast as EGMs, the increased speed at which in-play sports bets can now be placed is linked to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-018-9810-y">problem gambling</a>. </p>
<p>Another similarity between EGMs and online sports betting involves “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-017-9688-0">losses disguised as wins</a>”. This is when a player receives a payout that is less than their original wager but is still celebrated with visual and auditory feedback, making it <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-022-10184-w">feel like a win</a>. </p>
<p>The “cash-out” feature also allows players to settle bets early, often for less than the original stake, to minimise potential losses. This is particularly profitable for bookmakers when large sums are involved and could also disguise overall losses as wins. Using the cash-out feature is also associated with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-018-9876-x">problem gambling</a>.</p>
<h2>Sports betting in the near future</h2>
<p>It’s possible to see how sports betting products that incorporate AI and AR could evolve before they are commercially available by analysing patents. This is a useful strategy for researchers like us because potential areas of harm can be identified before new products hit the market. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16066359.2023.2241350">Our recent research</a> identified three patents that aim to add <a href="http://pire.fiu.edu/publications/Augmented.pdf">augmented reality</a> (AR) to the sports betting experience. AR typically uses goggles or mobile phones to overlap computer-generated imagery onto a player’s view of the real world. Big tech firms such as Apple (Apple Vision) and Samsung (Galaxy Glass) are currently racing to assimilate augmented reality into many aspects of our daily lives, with the potential for very positive results such as when used to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13304-018-0567-8">provide information to surgeons during operations</a>, for example, or to maintenance staff <a href="https://www.inc.com/james-paine/10-real-use-cases-for-augmented-reality.html">fixing complex equipment</a>.</p>
<p>But integrating AR with sports betting could have disastrous consequences. In a sports betting context, this would probably involve aiming the goggles or phone at a live sporting event both on TV or at the stadium and having <a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/e4/5d/82/6fde65850e9db0/US20220092913A1.pdf">real-time betting opportunities</a> shown in your field of vision as the event unfolds. Research shows <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-021-10027-0">immersion</a> is pivotal in fuelling problematic gambling behaviour and disengaging from an AR sports betting session could be very challenging. </p>
<p>We also identified three patents that seek to introduce competitive in-play sports bets between players rather than against bookmakers. These patents involve people <a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/96/b7/ac/3bc9d46fea2f89/US10198910.pdf">joining online tournaments</a>, and competing for rewards based on entry fees and wager pools. Leaderboards track bettor rankings, and players can communicate with each other in a similar fashion to poker. </p>
<p>However, introducing such competition in online sports betting might exacerbate “<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264000">tilting</a>” – when a person makes poor betting decisions in response to loss or pressure. This may be made worse when gamblers can chat and taunt each other. The companies involved in the above patents did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>Bookmakers are <a href="https://boardroom.tv/artificial-intelligence-sports-betting-ai-technology/#:%7E:text=The%20core%20of%20sports%20betting,both%20bettors%20and%20sportsbooks%20alike.">already using AI</a> to improve predictions and odds-setting processes. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-sets-out-ai-safety-summit-ambitions">UK government</a> is aware of the risks associated with AI, but regulating this rapidly growing technology will continue to be challenging. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man standing up and using a virtual reality headset and handheld controls in a living room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548334/original/file-20230914-25-uovgko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Augmented and virtual reality headsets and goggles offer an immersive experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-using-virtual-reality-headset-metaverse-2301455323">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Regulation and policy</h2>
<p>Gambling regulation is notorious for its lack of foresight. The 2005 Gambling Act was only <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">revised this year</a> to recognise the growth of online gambling, which has existed for nearly 20 years. So while more forward-looking regulation and policy is needed to protect consumers from the harmful evolution of sports betting, the uncertainty and complexity surrounding new sports betting technologies only adds to the challenge of regulating this industry.</p>
<p>But there are current harms that researchers and policymakers do understand. Our research shows that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16028">reducing the speed and ease</a> of online sports betting makes most sense. </p>
<p>Regulatory measures should not impede the freedoms of those who do gamble safely, however. Australia provides a good example: regulations there allow in-play bets, but legally require them to be made <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-of-legal-sports-betting-in-australia-points-to-risks-for-us-gamblers-and-tips-for-regulators-194993#:%7E:text=In%20Australia%2C%20live%20sports%20betting%20can%20be%20done%2C%20but%20not%20online.%20They%20must%20be%20placed%20by%20telephone%20call%20or%20at%20a%20venue%2C%20such%20as%20a%20bar%2C%20casino%20or%20betting%20shop%2C%20which%20is%20a%20storefront%20where%20people%20can%20place%20bets.">via telephone call</a> rather than instantly via apps or websites. This provides friction for the good of public health, rather than complete restriction. </p>
<p>Thanks to new technology such as AI and AR, this industry is already evolving at a faster pace than regulation can keep up with. As a result, sports betting could be dominated by a growing web of harms that are currently unforeseen and difficult to comprehend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Newall is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, and in 2020 was a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry. In the last three years, Philip Newall has contributed to research projects funded by the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, Clean Up Gambling, Gambling Research Australia, NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Philip Newall has received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>In the last three years, Jamie Torrance has received: PhD funding from GambleAware, Open access publication funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (GREO), Paid consultancy fees from Channel 4, Conference travel and accommodation funding from the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG), and an exploratory research grant from the ASFG and GREO.</span></em></p>
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality tools are upping the stakes when it comes to online sports betting.
Philip Newall, Lecturer in the School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol
Jamie Torrance, Lecturer and Researcher in Psychology, University of Chester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205843
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
Sport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking
<p>Turn on the TV and you’re <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">four times more likely</a> to see a gambling ad during a sports broadcast than during other programming.</p>
<p>The number of gambling ads on TV has grown from <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">374 a day</a> in 2016 to <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/948-gambling-ads-daily-on-victorian-free-to-air-tv-in-2021/">948 in 2021</a>. The Australian Football League and National Rubgy League have an “official wagering partner”, whose logo is displayed prominently. Individual clubs have sponsorship deals with gambling companies, displaying their logos on team jerseys.</p>
<p>It’s something Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agrees is “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/politicians-say-tv-gambling-ads-are-problematic-but-banning-them-will-do-little-experts-say/j4aapxz57">annoying</a>”, after Opposition leader Peter Dutton <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/peter-dutton-cranks-up-pressure-on-labor-to-further-restrict-gambling-ads#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CI%20announce%20that%20a%20Coalition,to%20get%20it%20implemented%20now.%E2%80%9D">proposed a ban</a> on gambling ads an hour before and after sports matches. </p>
<p>At present, <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-broadcast-tv-and-radio">a voluntary code governs</a> when these <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">ads can be shown</a>. Generally this means they are not allowed until after 8:30pm. But as any parent will tell you, this won’t stop <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">sports-mad kids</a> seeing them. </p>
<p>Children are regularly, and heavily, exposed to these ads. Parents are alarmed at the changing way their children view sport. It’s not just about the game, or the players, or the teams any more. Now children recite <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/child-and-parent-recall-of-gambling-sponsorship-in-australian-sport-67/">bookmaker brands</a> and the odds as they discuss the weekend’s sport.</p>
<h2>Normalising harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>As with cigarette marketing in decades past, sports sponsorship and advertising has been the primary mechanism for the aggressive “normalisation” of gambling. It presents betting on your team (especially with your mates) as the mark of a dedicated supporter.</p>
<p>Associating a product with a popular pastime, and with sporting or other heroes, is a clear tactic of harmful commodity industries from tobacco, to alcohol, fast food, and gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/study-shows-betting-ads-influencing-childrens-attitudes-to-gambling">Alarming evidence</a> is emerging that shows how young people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/27/children-more-likely-to-become-gamblers-due-to-high-volume-of-betting-ads">influenced by this marketing</a>. This includes evidence that <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/2302-overview_gambling-participation-harm-views.pdf">young people’s exposure to gambling ads</a> is linked to gambling activity as adults.</p>
<p>Gambling ads are effective in persuading people to make specific bets, and to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/sports-betting-online-group-chats-young-people-gambling-research/101945456">encourage their friends</a> to sign up.</p>
<p>Young men are particularly susceptible. More than 70% of <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">male punters aged 18 to 35</a> are at risk of harm, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in past 12 months." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in the past 12 months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">AIFS</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>What other countries are doing</h2>
<p>These concerns have now lead to multiple countries prohibiting gambling ads altogether. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sportcal.com/betting/sports-betting-advertising-restrictions-planned-in-netherlands/">The Netherlands</a> will ban all TV, radio, print and billboard gambling ads from July, with strict conditions on online advertising. A ban on club sponsorship will come into effect in 2025. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-bans-gambling-advertising-july-1-2023-03-09/">Belgium</a> is going further, ban gambling ads online as well from July. It will ban advertising in stadiums from 2025, and sponsoring of sports clubs in 2028.</p>
<p><a href="https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/08/31/spain-ban-gambling-advertising/">Spain</a> imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising in 2021, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-act-review-how-eu-countries-are-tightening-restrictions-on-ads-and-why-the-uk-should-too-199354">Italy</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>In the UK, the Premier League last month agreed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/13/premier-league-clubs-ban-gambling-sponsors-on-front-of-shirts-from-2026-27">ban bookies’ logos</a> from player match shirts, though critics argue this barely addresses <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">the scale of the problem</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to denormalise harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>“Denormalisation” was a key strategy of <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-5-uptake/5-24-denormalising-smoking">tobacco control efforts</a> in Australia. These are now seen as a massive public health success, with smoking and associated disease rates dropping dramatically. </p>
<p>There are at least two aspects to denormalising harmful products. </p>
<p>The first is to reduce the avenues through which the product can be promoted. With <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc%7Etimeline#:%7E:text=1976%20%2D%20bans%20on%20all%20cigarette,increase%20in%20the%20tobacco%20excise.">tobacco</a> this includes even regulating the packaging. For gambling, getting rid of all forms of gambling promotion during sporting events is the obvious first step.</p>
<p>It’s also important to have counter-marketing. When Victoria banned tobacco sponsorship in 1987, it established the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-history#:%7E:text=We%20were%20established%20by%20the,of%20sport%20and%20the%20arts.">Victorian Health Promotion Foundation </a>, funded by tobacco taxes, initially to support teams that had lost sponsorship. </p>
<p>If gambling ads were banned, it would be logical to replace at least some of the bookies’ ads with messaging that helps people avoid a gambling habit, or get help if they already have an issue.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>If the current <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/onlinegambling">parliamentary inquiry into online gambling</a> makes recommendations in line with submissions from concerned citizens and non-government organisations, we can expect an extension of current restrictions. This should include banning ads in line with Peter Dutton’s suggestions.</p>
<p>It would also make sense to go further than just more restrictions on broadcast ads, to include online and social media promotion. </p>
<p>Even though gambling companies spend most of their marketing dollars on television, use of <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-receptivity-of-young-people-to-gambling-marketing-strategies-on-social-media-platforms-1155/">social media</a> is increasing, with alcohol and gambling ads that deliberately <a href="https://fare.org.au/facebook-and-instagram-are-bombarding-young-people-with-targeted-alcohol-gambling-and-unhealthy-food-ads/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20observed%20that%20alcohol%2C%20unhealthy,points%20collected%20about%20each%20child.%E2%80%9D">target young people</a>. This is despite platforms like Facebook saying it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/345214789920228?id=434838534925385">doesn’t allow targeting</a> for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-odds-youll-gamble-on-the-grand-final-are-high-when-punting-is-woven-into-our-very-social-fabric-124157">The odds you’ll gamble on the Grand Final are high when punting is woven into our very social fabric</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A program of successive marketing restrictions, moving towards total prohibition, can give the broadcast industry, and the sporting codes, time to line up new sponsors. </p>
<p>There is a need for national uniformity, with a national regulator to replace current clunky arrangements. And only the federal government has any hope of making social media adhere to regulation. </p>
<p>We gained enormous benefits from removing tobacco advertising from our TV screens and billboards. We have the opportunity to protect a new generation from further serious, avoidable gambling harm. </p>
<p>No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads.</p>
<p>Providing a clear timeline for the end of gambling ads will give our professional sports organisations the incentive they need to find an ethical solution that avoids entrapping a new generation in gambling harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205843/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Lancet Public Health Commission into gambling, and of the World Health Organisation expert group on gambling and gambling harm.</span></em></p>
No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads. We can protect a new generation of young sports fans from harm by following other nations’ lead – and phasing out gambling ads.
Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204105
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it
<p>“Excellent decision.”</p>
<p>This was the reaction from English football great Gary Lineker to the <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1646469550106345472?s=20">announcement that the English Premier League</a> has agreed to voluntarily “withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts”. </p>
<p>The league announced its decision after an “extensive consultation” with the UK government about its review of gambling legislation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1646471488688599040"}"></div></p>
<p>This decision was held up by the government as a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">key strategy</a> to reduce children’s incidental exposure to gambling logos while watching football, in the UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/gambling-reform-in-the-digital-age">gambling white paper</a> released Thursday.</p>
<p>The white paper also identified the front-of-shirt ban as part of an effort to move towards “socially responsible” sports sponsorship. </p>
<p>Some UK campaigners cautiously welcomed the decision, saying it was an important admission from the Premier League that <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1646783724405530628?s=20">gambling advertising is harmful</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, some gambling reform groups said the measure was <a href="https://twitter.com/ReformGambling/status/1646770316545343488?s=20">great news</a>, and that Australian sporting codes should do the same.</p>
<p>However, in the following days, extensive criticism of the deal emerged. <a href="https://twitter.com/felly500/status/1646869806547718147?s=20">Public health experts</a> and other stakeholders argued the measure was more about public relations than harm prevention. </p>
<p>Experts argued the ban would do little to tackle the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9c3713ab-4317-4205-96ce-1075ecc5f865?accessToken=zwAF-dLxW63YkdOcNxOrQxdCBdOWzhB17MX4ZQ.MEUCIFx5oi98ZhAh3FTD_BpyqM1tP72rNMeLJwnbD1kGhrbZAiEA2RJOC47Nt7PmRTa3Fn39YPJ5JU94qGDsv2vsfHF87OU&sharetype=gift&token=000a957f-9f7e-432f-ad15-915115b38fb2">entrenched relationship between the gambling industry and sport</a>, and could even be a step backwards. </p>
<p>Many were concerned the measure deflected from the urgent need for comprehensive restrictions on gambling marketing – a measure widely supported to prevent the normalisation of gambling for children.</p>
<p>And the UK white paper did little to implement the comprehensive restrictions needed to <a href="http://www.adph.org.uk/2023/04/wpresponse/">reduce children’s daily exposure to gambling promotions</a>.</p>
<h2>A flawed approach</h2>
<p>At the heart of the criticisms were that the decision, as well as related measures, did very little to address the proliferation of gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only removes a small part of marketing on the front of matchday shirts. This leaves the door open for gambling branding to remain on other parts of the uniform, and on other kits</p></li>
<li><p>doesn’t address marketing or branding around sporting grounds</p></li>
<li><p>will not be implemented until the end of the 2025-26 season – hardly a sign of an urgent imperative to reduce the marketing of a harmful product</p></li>
<li><p>includes a promise to establish a “new code for responsible gambling sponsorship”</p></li>
<li><p>and seemingly <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">ignores the evidence</a> that voluntary codes serve primarily to <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p161.full">protect the interests of advertisers</a>, not the community.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The flaws with the Premier League’s decision highlight the significant problems with allowing those with vested interests to make decisions about what they’re prepared to engage in (or not) to protect the health of the public. </p>
<p>History shows <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)62089-3/fulltext">these types of initiatives are rarely effective</a> in reducing marketing for these products, or in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(19)32540-1/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR2TJ3MJNaZuL9d4g2DWxu04mVxFGzJahxBR4BTHk332kdkZ_LfAdHETaJs">protecting children</a>. </p>
<p>Far from signalling progress, they serve to delay regulation that would protect public health. Voluntary measures and self-regulation are convenient for governments that don’t want to regulate a powerful industry. They form part of the narrative for government that “something is being done”.</p>
<h2>Vested interests</h2>
<p>In Australia, sporting organisations have a significant vested interest in making money from gambling products, sponsorships and promotions. Some, including the AFL, also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/04/afl-receives-cut-of-gambling-turnover-outside-sponsorship-inquiry-hears">receive a cut of gambling turnover on matches</a>. </p>
<p>Peak sporting bodies <a href="https://www.compps.com.au/index.html">claim</a> sport delivers “long-term social, health, community and economic benefits”. While this is clearly true in many cases, it’s inconsistent with the stance many Australian sporting codes have taken on gambling. This is especially so given the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/gambling-harm-victoria/types-harm-gambling/">irrefutable links</a> between gambling and some of Australia’s most pressing health and social problems, including homelessness, family violence, criminality and mental health issues.</p>
<p>Instead of taking a strong stand to restrict gambling marketing, some sporting codes have continued to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hpja.721">normalise the promotion of gambling products</a>. We saw this all too clearly in the recent <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0004;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">testimonies of the chief executives of the AFL and NRL</a> to the current Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling. </p>
<p>The AFL and NRL chiefs, Gillon McLachlan and Andrew Abdo, did acknowledge concerns about gambling marketing, and said responsibility to the community was taken “seriously”. But both spoke repeatedly about the need for regulatory “balance” in relation to gambling. </p>
<p>McLachlan added: “I don’t believe that brand advertising per se is too much.”</p>
<p>But our research tells a different story. </p>
<h2>Normalising gambling for kids</h2>
<p>Children as young as eight have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">awareness and recall of gambling brands and promotions</a>. They can name multiple gambling brands, describe the advertising in detail, and even tell us what colours certain gambling companies are. Young people tell us that much of this awareness comes from seeing gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The gambling industry is also becoming more creative in linking gambling with sport. This includes promotions on <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">platforms such as TikTok</a>. Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans justified these promotions by <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0005;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">telling</a> the parliamentary inquiry “we only work with partners such as TikTok who have reliable and robust age-gating technology”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1629036740626493440"}"></div></p>
<h2>Learning from tobacco control</h2>
<p>Government action is clearly the most effective intervention in curbing marketing for harmful products. That’s why governments took decisions about advertising and sponsorship away from the tobacco industry. </p>
<p>Sporting organisations also resisted restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship (with many of the same arguments now used in defence of gambling promotions).</p>
<p>But history shows us that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-push-to-end-tobacco-advertising-in-the-1970s-could-be-used-to-curb-gambling-ads-today-200915">legislated bans</a> on tobacco advertising through sport made a huge difference to <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-11-advertising/11-1-the-merits-of-banning-tobacco-advertising">preventing young people from being exposed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="VicHealth anti-smoking campaign poster." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strong action was taken by governments on tobacco sponsorship in sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/VicHealth-30th-anniversary.pdf">© Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-needs-tobacco-like-regulation-in-sports-advertising-and-sponsorship-123106">Gambling needs tobacco-like regulation in sports advertising and sponsorship</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An opportunity for change</h2>
<p>The Australian parliamentary inquiry into online gambling is looking at how to best respond to gambling marketing. It’s important we don’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to marketing restrictions that the UK is taking. </p>
<p>As public pressure for action grows, we’re likely to see vested interests offering further minor concessions that have little impact on their advertising or their capacity to target young people.</p>
<p>We need strong action by governments, not small steps that <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-018-0254-6">lead nowhere</a>. Gambling and sporting bodies should play no part in decisions about keeping young people and the community safe from this predatory industry.</p>
<p>And their predatory ads should be removed completely from the sporting arena, not just the front of matchday shirts in the English Premier League.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Thomas has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, Healthway, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the NSW Office for Gambing. She is currently the Editor in Chief of Health Promotion International, an Oxford University Press Journal. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Hannah Pitt has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the NSW Office for Responsible Gambling, VicHealth and Deakin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Simone McCarthy has been employed on research projects that are funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.</span></em></p>
It’s important Australia doesn’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to gambling marketing that the UK is taking.
Samantha Thomas, Professor of Public Health, Deakin University
Hannah Pitt, VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Simone McCarthy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199657
2023-02-10T14:31:53Z
2023-02-10T14:31:53Z
A boon for sports fandom or a looming mental health crisis? 5 essential reads on the effects of legal sports betting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509263/original/file-20230209-22-4dax04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C97%2C4532%2C2930&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In a remarkable shift, pro sports leagues like the NFL have eagerly embraced gambling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/one-hundred-dollar-football-royalty-free-image/471257888?phrase=sports betting&adppopup=true">michaelquirk/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A lifelong sports fan, I grew up hearing tales of sports figures felled by gambling scandals – baseball stars <a href="https://www.silive.com/news/2021/06/si-field-of-dreams-black-sox-outfielder-shoeless-joe-jackson-played-here-after-baseball-ban.html">“Shoeless” Joe Jackson</a> and <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pete-rose-gets-booted-from-baseball">Pete Rose</a>, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/chalk/story/_/id/11633538/betting-chronicling-worst-fix-ever-1978-79-bc-point-shaving-scandal">the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team</a> and NBA referee <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25980368/how-former-ref-tim-donaghy-conspired-fix-nba-games">Tim Donaghy</a>. </p>
<p>Sports leagues wanted nothing to do with gambling, which they feared would taint the integrity of the game. They had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/02/nyregion/how-politics-nipped-a-sports-betting-bill.html">lobbied heavily</a> for the passage of <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/102/s474/summary">the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992</a>, also known as the Bradley Act, which banned sports betting in the U.S.</p>
<p>Then, in May 2018, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">overturned the Bradley Act</a>.</p>
<p>This time, the leagues and networks were fully on board. Gambling ads for companies like DraftKings, BetMGM and FanDuel started appearing in arenas and beaming across airwaves. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams <a href="https://raiderswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/15/davante-adams-becomes-brand-ambassador-for-official-gaming-parter-of-the-raiders-mgm-resorts/">signed a sponsorship deal</a> with MGM. And point spreads started being prominently featured on sports media outlets. </p>
<div style="width:50%;float:right;margin:10px;"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2533/TheConversation_SportsBetting.pdf?1676069169"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509547/original/file-20230210-26-aade4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=300&fit=crop&dpr=1" alt="Cover of ebook on sports gambling"></a><br>
<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2533/TheConversation_SportsBetting.pdf?1676069169"><strong>Download these articles in a magazine-style ebook</strong></a>
</div>
<p>Curious, I started placing some bets myself. I instantly grasped the allure: Here I was, watching games that I would have otherwise never watched – that didn’t involve my favorite teams, the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots – and I was engaged and excited from start to finish. The leagues, too, must have been keenly aware of this opportunity to engage fans when they decided to change their tune on gambling. </p>
<p>With the five-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision approaching, I wanted to learn more about what scholars at the forefront of gambling research had been discovering. How many people were betting on sports? For those <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/14/589087523/supreme-court-rules-states-are-free-to-legalize-sports-betting">who criticized</a> the Supreme Court decision five years ago, was their hand-wringing misplaced? Were rates of problem gambling actually on the rise? If so, who was most at risk?</p>
<p>Gambling research can be challenging; <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/">laws and regulations vary by state</a>, and gambling researchers <a href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/naadgs-analysis-of-problem-gambling-funding-july-2022/521f7652c06a6d4d/full.pdf">receive almost no federal funding</a>. </p>
<p>But a small and dedicated group of scholars in the U.S. and abroad have been gauging the impact of this new era in American sports. With few regulations in place, gambling companies are going all-in to attract as many customers as possible – with younger, sports-obsessed and smartphone-savvy Americans particularly vulnerable.</p>
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<h2>1. A new fan experience</h2>
<p>Prior to becoming the chair of Penn State’s sports journalism program, <a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/john-affleck">John Affleck</a> had worked as a sports reporter and editor for The Associated Press. Both in the newsroom and in his early years at Penn State, there was nary a peep about gambling. </p>
<p>Now he notices his students regularly talking about the point spread and over/under for upcoming games.</p>
<p>He writes about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">how quickly gambling has become integrated in sports media</a>, with announcers and analysts peppering in references to gambling during live coverage and postgame analysis.</p>
<p>He describes the thousands of betting tip channels on YouTube, the segments on TV devoted to gambling and the betting lines that appear in game previews.</p>
<p>“In the nearly five years since the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting, a whole industry has sprouted up that, for tens of millions of fans around the country, is now just part of the show.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">How legalized sports betting has transformed the fan experience</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. Is New Jersey a canary in the coal mine?</h2>
<p>After the Supreme Court’s May 2018 ruling, New Jersey was one of a handful of states primed to pounce: Legislation had been prepped in advance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/nyregion/sports-betting-legalized-nj.html">and the governor signed a bill legalizing sports betting</a> less than a month after the federal ban was overturned.</p>
<p>But the state also included something in their legislation that other states didn’t: It gave the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University access to data on every bet placed in the state, and tasked it with conducting regular studies on gambling in New Jersey. </p>
<p>Lia Nower, who directs the center, <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-from-new-jersey-is-a-warning-sign-for-young-sports-bettors-197865">highlights some worrisome findings</a> from her team’s forthcoming gambling prevalence study – particularly for young bettors.</p>
<p>She and her team found that those who bet on sports were more likely than other gamblers to have problems with drugs or alcohol and experience anxiety and depression. Most alarming, about 14% of sports bettors reported thoughts of suicide, with 10% saying they had attempted suicide. And the fastest-growing group of sports bettors in New Jersey were young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 – over 70% of whom had placed in-game bets. </p>
<p>“Since about 70% of the sports bets we analyzed were losing bets,” Nower writes, “most of these young players could find themselves losing more money than they can afford.”</p>
<p>Nower also explains how other countries with a longer history of legal sports betting have enacted a raft of regulations intended to protect gamblers and curb the worst excesses of the gambling companies – a topic another scholar, Alex Russell, <a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-of-legal-sports-betting-in-australia-points-to-risks-for-us-gamblers-and-tips-for-regulators-194993">explores in his history of sports gambling in Australia</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/data-from-new-jersey-is-a-warning-sign-for-young-sports-bettors-197865">Data from New Jersey is a warning sign for young sports bettors</a>
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<h2>3. Technology facilitates impulsive betting</h2>
<p>If there’s one key difference between the early 1990s, when the Bradley Act passed, and today, it’s the advent of smartphones.</p>
<p>In many states, there’s no need to drive to a casino to place a bet on a game; all you need to do is download a gambling app. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299495/forecast-number-of-online-sports-bettors-us/">According to one estimate</a>, there were about 19 million online sports bettors in 2022.</p>
<p><iframe id="6WGNn" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6WGNn/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Clinical psychologist and gambling researcher Meredith K. Ginley explores how <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-legalized-sports-betting-has-transformed-the-fan-experience-194994">these apps facilitate impulsive in-game betting</a> that can cause losses to mount until the final whistle blows.</p>
<p>“Proximity to gambling venues is a known risk factor for problematic levels of gambling,” she writes. “Sports wagering apps essentially load a casino onto the phone in your pocket.”</p>
<p>Many apps offer tools that let users set deposit, loss and wagering limits to encourage responsible gambling. But, she adds, the apps are also “heavily ‘gamified’ to feel more like an interactive video game” with “push notifications, free play, leaderboards and more.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-apps-notifications-and-leaderboards-encourage-more-and-more-wagers-a-psychologist-who-treats-gambling-addictions-explains-why-some-people-get-hooked-198358">Sports betting apps' notifications and leaderboards encourage more and more wagers – a psychologist who treats gambling addictions explains why some people get hooked</a>
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<hr>
<h2>4. A new problem gambler profile emerges</h2>
<p>Sure enough, some sports bettors have developed gambling problems.</p>
<p>Tori Horn, a clinical psychologist at the University of Memphis <a href="https://thegamblingclinic.com/">who treats people with gambling disorder</a>, has seen a shift in the profile of her typical patient – from clients who were usually older and gambled in casinos to younger men, mostly in their 20s, who are seeking treatment for problems with sports betting. </p>
<p>Horn explains how many of her patients started betting via gambling apps after learning about promotions like FanDuel’s “No Sweat First Bet,” which offers free bets to new users. </p>
<p>In addiction therapy, therapists often encourage clients to avoid places, people and situations that are associated with the substance. </p>
<p>For these reasons, problem sports gamblers – particularly those who use apps – “present a unique challenge,” she writes, since it is “incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to ask a client to stop using their smartphone or stop watching sports.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-treat-people-with-gambling-disorder-and-im-starting-to-see-more-and-more-young-men-who-are-betting-on-sports-198285">I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. The ‘hidden addiction’</h2>
<p>But might concerns over sports betting be overblown?</p>
<p>James P. Whalen, who directs the Institute for Gambling Education and Research at the University of Memphis, cautions against reaching any sort of premature conclusions about legal sports betting as a societal scourge.</p>
<p>“A review of 30 years of research on the prevalence of problem gambling and gambling disorder reveals a pattern,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-americans-are-problem-gamblers-so-why-do-so-few-people-ever-seek-treatment-197861">he writes</a>. “More gambling availability tends to lead to a spike in the number of people reporting gambling issues in the short term. However, populations tend to adapt over time; the rate of gambling problems decreases accordingly.”</p>
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<p>Regardless, there are still millions of Americans who are caught in the throes of gambling addiction. And treating the disorder – so stigmatized that it’s often called the “<a href="https://cocaberks.org/problem-gambling-the-hidden-addiction/">hidden addiction</a>” – is complicated by the fact that relatively few people seek treatment compared with other mental health disorders.</p>
<p>“The other challenge is the rate at which people discontinue treatment,” Whelan adds. For most mental health disorders, 20% of people who start therapy will drop out before completing a standard course of treatment, he explains.</p>
<p>“By comparison,” he notes, “the dropout rate for gambling harms is nearly double: 39%.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-americans-are-problem-gamblers-so-why-do-so-few-people-ever-seek-treatment-197861">Millions of Americans are problem gamblers – so why do so few people ever seek treatment?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
With few regulations in place, gambling companies are going all-in to attract as many customers as possible – with younger, sports-obsessed and smartphone-savvy Americans particularly vulnerable.
Nick Lehr, Arts + Culture Editor
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/146031
2020-09-15T11:39:02Z
2020-09-15T11:39:02Z
Governments set the rules – so they shouldn’t blame us for not behaving better
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357669/original/file-20200911-20-1wtmtw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=152%2C71%2C5748%2C3916&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bad food: it's addictive and cheaper. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/assortment-unhealthy-products-thats-bad-figure-573417277">Ekaterina Markelova/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Under <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/sites/default/files/P894%20Grounded%20-%20Aviation%20Emissions%20during%20Covid-19%20%5BWEB%5D_0.pdf">some estimates</a>, airplane emissions could be down by almost 40% in 2020 because of COVID-19 lockdowns. </p>
<p>We’ve been told not to fly so much for years by campaigners, researchers, even governments – that it’s our responsibility to reduce carbon emissions. Until governments prevented us from travelling to stop the spread of the virus, we’ve tended to ignore all this advice. </p>
<p>At the same time, our governments have provided incentives to fly. International aviation fuel tax exemption is estimated at around <a href="https://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=2070">US$65 billion a year</a>, keeping the cost of air travel down and inflating demand. This is one example of how government policies encourage us to do one thing, even as we’re being told it’s our responsibility to behave differently.</p>
<p>My recent book examines <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/its-the-government-stupid">how governments continually blame</a> citizens for social outcomes which are the result of their own policies. Governments use the cult of personal responsibility to blame each of us for the way society is, when they are the ones setting the incentives for our behaviour.</p>
<p>Of course, people must take responsibility for the choices they make from their menu of opportunities. However, that menu, and the reasonableness of different alternatives on it, is set by society – and government is the major agent in society. </p>
<h2>Gun crime</h2>
<p>Take gun deaths. In the US, the massive gun-related death toll is directly attributable to the nature of gun regulations. The issue is not whether or not to ban guns, but the type of regulations restricting their sale and use. Gun regulations vary across countries, but <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/its-the-government-stupid">my research highlights</a> how tighter gun rules reduce death and injury rates. </p>
<p>Those who defend the US’s current lax gun regulations on the basis of constitutional rights, must take responsibility for the consequences of that defence. They must admit that the gun-related murder toll of more than <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/">14,500</a> in 2017 is an acceptable rate. If they want keep current regulations, they need to take responsibility for the consequences of doing so, even after tragic mass shootings.</p>
<h2>Hooked on bad food</h2>
<p>Obesity, a growing health problem across the world, is another example. The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/11/no-10-plans-weight-loss-drive-to-ready-uk-for-expected-covid-19-second-wave">announced another government initiative</a> on the issue in July. Like previous initiatives, it will be directed at personal behaviour giving advice about healthy food and exercise. While the food industry has been given calorie-reduction guidelines, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-voluntary-calorie-guidelines-to-help-industry-tackle-obesity">they are voluntary</a>, and the government has not stepped into regulate food manufacturing. </p>
<p>Almost 30% of the British population is <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/">deemed obese</a> and another 35% overweight. Britons eat too many refined grains, fats and sugars, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages. People eat these highly processed, highly calorific products because they are cheap and tasty. </p>
<p>Countries around the world are beginning to respond to reducing obesity. <a href="https://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/trans-fats.html">Trans fats are banned in several countries</a>, but not the UK. All the UK has done is urge food manufacturers not to use trans fats, but it’s unclear whether they have been reduced to any great extent in British food. </p>
<p>Sugar is <a href="https://www.fabresearch.org/viewItem.php?id=9685">highly addictive</a>. We cannot blame food manufacturers for providing addictive food products – they operate in a competitive business. But it’s government’s fault for allowing it. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/research-action/features/uk-sugar-tax-will-it-work">UK has introduced a sugar tax,</a> but still allows many sugar-free drinks to contain artificial sweeteners, which also <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/soft-drinks-including-sugar-free-versions-linked-earlier-death/">affect people’s health</a>. </p>
<p>By failing to act, the government is responsible for creating circumstances that make it difficult for many people to make choices that will <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e7492">benefit their health</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/child-obesity-is-linked-to-deprivation-so-why-do-poor-parents-still-cop-the-blame-106954">Child obesity is linked to deprivation, so why do poor parents still cop the blame?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Gambling and drugs</h2>
<p>Gambling and recreational drugs are rather different to food when it comes to responsibility. Governments around the world have become less paternalistic in gambling but more so in drug use over the past century. </p>
<p>Gambling regulations have been eased in most European countries, the UK and Australia over the past 30 years. The bulk of research and legislative effort goes into helping problem gamblers who are already addicted. These problems emerge, however, because governments allow the industry to hook people in, notably with electronic gambling machines, which create addiction by <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/midbrain-mutiny">disrupting the neural reward centres</a> of those most subject to addiction.</p>
<p>Many governments have decided, however, that people cannot take responsibility for recreational drugs. Many people take recreational drugs <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Legalising_Drugs.html?id=5gBpDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">without forming life-destroying addictions</a> and in fact more people die from <a href="https://www.drugfreeworld.org/course/lesson/the-truth-about-prescription-drugs/abuse-international-statistics.html">misuing prescription drugs</a> that recreational ones. Legalisation that regulates recreational drug use – which has been introduced in recent years in countries such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45806255">Canada</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22212070/">Portugal</a> – could be a far more welfare-enhancing policy than outright bans.</p>
<p>Governments blame citizens for their own policy failures far too often. It’s time to stop blaming people for being homeless, not being able to find a job, for being overweight or for the failing environment. Instead, politicians must take responsibility for the social and environmental problems we face.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249586/original/file-20181210-76983-1azl8ax.png?h=128">
<div>
<header>Keith Dowding is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/its-the-government-stupid">It’s the Government, Stupid: How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies.</a></p>
<footer>Bristol University Press provides funding as a content partner of The Conversation UK</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Dowding does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Governments often blame citizens for social outcomes which are the result of their own policies.
Keith Dowding, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Political Philosophy, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/132876
2020-04-01T02:06:13Z
2020-04-01T02:06:13Z
Most community bids to block pokies fail – the law is stacked against them too
<p>Most Australians know you never end up winning on the pokies. What Australians might not know is that the odds of winning a case against a poker-machine proposal in their local neighbourhood are very poor too. My <a href="http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:162956">recent study</a> shows the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) approved almost 90% of poker-machine licence applications that came before it.</p>
<p>Although the commission must consider the views of the local council when making decisions, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-03/city-of-casey-decision-on-new-pokies/12018258">council opposition rarely stops a proposal</a>. These cases are hard to fight and win. They are very expensive and demanding. Should a Victorian council brave the fight, the <a href="http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:162956">odds of losing are as high as 80%</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pokies-sport-and-racing-harm-41-of-monthly-gamblers-survey-81486">Pokies, sport and racing harm 41% of monthly gamblers: survey</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Not all councils have the resources or appetite for such a battle. This is a problem for councils and communities. Their frustration about the lack of local influence on regulatory decision-making adds to their concerns about gambling harm in their community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/323444/original/file-20200326-133007-1ly88nm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even when councils oppose an application for a poker-machine venue, the applicant wins up to 80% of the time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>There’s a reason councils rarely win</h2>
<p>The question is why are these cases so hard to win? Especially when the Victorian regulatory system – under the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/gra2003190/">Gambling Regulation Act 2003</a> and the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/paea1987254/">Planning and Environment Act 1987</a> – specifically acknowledges the importance of local influence on the distribution of poker machines.</p>
<p>Regulatory and quasi-court procedures are notoriously complex and resource-demanding; this includes poker-machine regulation. However, less attention and scrutiny have been given to the assumptions and principles underpinning gambling policy and procedures. This is the source of councils’ difficulty in winning a case against poker machines.</p>
<p>The VCGLR approves poker machine licences if it <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/gra2003190/s3.3.7.html">considers</a> the “net economic and social impact of approval will not be detrimental to the well-being of the community”. This “<a href="https://www.vcglr.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/key_factors_in_deciding_egm_applications_-_2019_1.pdf">no net detriment test</a>” involves a guesstimate of potential costs and benefits in relation to a proposal’s overall community impact.</p>
<p>The premise is that harm can be absorbed into benefits to serve the community as a whole – the majority of people. It’s a utilitarian approach to gambling policy that implies social harm can be costed. This means the nation’s joy of gambling can outweigh vulnerable people’s misery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-flashing-lights-and-catchy-tunes-make-gamblers-take-more-risks-105852">How flashing lights and catchy tunes make gamblers take more risks</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Essentially, the VCGLR’s task is (indirectly) to estimate “how many happy gamblers does it take to make up for suicide, bankruptcy, domestic violence?”. All these <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-social-cost-of-gambling-to-victoria-121/">social harms</a> have been <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective-69">associated with gambling</a>. </p>
<p>This is crudely put, but it’s the social contract we enter into when accepting a cost-benefit approach to gambling policy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/areas-with-more-poker-machines-have-higher-rates-of-domestic-violence-66982">Areas with more poker machines have higher rates of domestic violence</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Apart from the ethical dilemma involved here, the cost-benefit approach to assessing poker-machine applications is highly problematic for local councils. </p>
<p>Social harm is notoriously difficult to cost. That makes it difficult to argue and easier to dismiss. The concerns that are most important to local communities cannot effectively be tabled on the regulatory agenda. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-pokie-operators-are-not-nearly-as-charitable-as-they-claim-124085">New research shows pokie operators are not nearly as charitable as they claim</a>
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<h2>The utilitarian approach is harmful</h2>
<p>Victoria’s regulatory system keeps the public debate focused on utility. The ethical basis of poker machines is neither addressed nor debated. </p>
<p>Getting better at costing gambling harm is not going to solve this problem for local councils. An assessment of utility implies the most vulnerable or disadvantaged members of a community must accept the harm burden of gambling so others can have more in the form the freedom to gamble and redistributed benefits - for example through state taxes derived from foker machine gambling. </p>
<p>Most of these poker machine taxes are drawn from these lower socio-economic areas. The inferior social and economic infrastructure of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-from-big-gambling-in-australia-22930">disadvantaged areas</a> where <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1016847305942">pokies tend to be concentrated</a> adds to the injustice. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-from-big-gambling-in-australia-22930">Who wins from 'Big Gambling' in Australia?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The broad distribution of poker machines and associated <a href="https://theconversation.com/pokies-sport-and-racing-harm-41-of-monthly-gamblers-survey-81486">high levels of harm</a> are evidence of the failure of this cost-benefit approach. Regulatory decision-making isn’t properly assessing the real cost and harm poker machines cause. </p>
<p>The current approach fails to give enough weight to local concerns and meaningful participation and representation. As a result, the system falls short of meeting public expectations of fair and just regulation.</p>
<p>If councils and communities are to get a fairer go, a different policy approach is needed. It needs to be able to better consider the impacts of poker machines on local communities and social justice more generally. It’s time to rethink the use of cost-benefit analysis as the basis for gambling policy - and social policy more broadly. </p>
<p>Gaming regulation across Australia currently protects a very fragile justification for poker machines as legitimate social and economic infrastructure. It serves the gambling industry and state interests better than the well-being of local communities. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-why-governments-get-addicted-to-smoking-gambling-and-other-vices-115254">Vital Signs: why governments get addicted to smoking, gambling and other vices</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mette Hotker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
How many happy gamblers, jobs and profits does it take to make up for the suicides, bankruptcies and domestic violence? Regulators must make cost-benefit guesstimates when considering applications.
Mette Hotker, Lecturer in Social Planning, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120841
2019-09-12T09:10:14Z
2019-09-12T09:10:14Z
NZ children see more than 40 ads for unhealthy products each day. It’s time to change marketing rules
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292108/original/file-20190911-190002-1eknmqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C98%2C2968%2C1904&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows that New Zealand children are exposed to an average of 46 ads for unhealthy products every day.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Unhealthy products - including junk food, alcohol and gambling - are leading causes of cancer, obesity, diabetes, mental illness and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)61766-8/fulltext">many social harms</a>. In New Zealand, alcohol alone contributes to an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennie_Connor/publication/272835369_The_burden_of_disease_and_injury_attributable_to_alcohol_in_New_Zealanders_under_80_years_of_age_Marked_disparities_by_ethnicity_and_sex/links/54f485820cf2f28c1361ca7a.pdf">estimated 800 deaths</a> and costs the economy approximately <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/106343048/alcohol-harm-more-than-triple-the-cost-of-all-treaty-claims-so-far--economist">NZ$7.85 billion each year</a>. </p>
<p>Two comprehensive reports, published by the <a href="https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/sites/default/files/projectAvailableFormats/NZLC%20R114.pdf">Law Commission in 2010</a> and the <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/ministerial-forum-on-alcohol-advertising-and-sponsorship-recommendations-on-alcohol-advertising-and-sponsorship-dec14.pdf">Ministerial Forum on Advertising and Sponsorship in 2014</a>, have recommended a complete overhaul of alcohol marketing regulations. But successive governments have failed to act. </p>
<p>The lack of government action in the face of a broken regulatory system is a major concern, particularly given children’s unprecedented exposure to and normalisation of advertising of unhealthy products. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/even-adverts-for-healthy-fast-food-are-bad-for-children-heres-why-they-should-be-banned-104708">Even adverts for 'healthy’ fast food are bad for children – here's why they should be banned</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Failure of industry self-regulation</h2>
<p>In most countries, including New Zealand, marketing for individual unhealthy products is self-regulated by the industry (with the notable exception of tobacco). The industry sets, monitors and enforces their own marketing codes. </p>
<p>Such systems are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.13433">hopelessly ineffective</a>, particularly at protecting children. Our recent research showed New Zealand children were exposed to an average of 46 ads for unhealthy products every day (27 <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-017-0570-3">junk food</a>, 12 <a href="https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/53/5/626/5056455">alcohol</a>, and seven <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-019-00103-3">gambling ads</a>). Exposure was measured by 168 children wearing automated cameras that captured images every seven seconds every waking hour for four days. </p>
<p>Children were frequently exposed to unhealthy marketing near schools and in supermarkets, and at times were they should be protected under the self-regulatory codes. Sports sponsorship was a key mechanism used by unhealthy product companies, which undermined their own self-regulatory codes and was a major contributor to children’s overall exposure. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mcdonalds-is-a-social-and-healthcare-burden-whatever-its-charity-pr-might-indicate-105627">McDonald's is a social and healthcare burden – whatever its charity PR might indicate</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>From marketing to consumption</h2>
<p>Of course, adults can consume alcohol, junk food and gamble at low-risk levels. But there is always potential for misuse of unhealthy products because they are inherently addictive, with proven <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)61766-8/fulltext">links to adverse outcomes</a>. For example, New Zealand is the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Obesity-Update-2017.pdf">third most obese nation in the OECD</a>, with <a href="https://who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight">poor diets as the leading causal factor</a>. These products are a risk to health and the government has an obligation to ensure citizens’ rights to good health.</p>
<p>There is strong <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.13591">evidence</a> of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666312001511?via%3Dihub">negative health impacts of marketing</a> across a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11469-009-9211-7">range of unhealthy products</a>. Consequently, marketing is recognised as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673612620893">key driver of consumption</a> and contributor to the overall health burden. </p>
<p>How are governments dealing with this? In short, they aren’t.
One might think that regulating unhealthy products marketing might be fairly complex, but the policy recommendations for dealing with a wide range of products are remarkably similar and straightforward. </p>
<p>For example, there are common recommendations on banning sports sponsorship of unhealthy products. This has the support of some athletes, including AFL star <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/wood-would-take-pay-cut-to-rid-afl-of-gambling-dollars-20190627-p521qc.html">Easton Wood</a> who said he would take a pay cut to rid the AFL of gambling sponsors. </p>
<p>Why the reluctance on regulating unhealthy products? Companies selling unhealthy products have acquired a critical mass of expertise in challenging meaningful health regulation. </p>
<h2>Collaborative industries</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673612620893">Research</a> has shown how individual unhealthy product companies adopt the same tactics to disrupt, distort and deflect meaningful regulation. </p>
<p>For example, tobacco and alcohol companies have produced public relation campaigns that stress the importance of individual accountability and education. But how many consumers are aware that drinking a bottle of wine a week has the <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6576-9">same cancer risk </a>as smoking ten cigarettes for women and five for men? Or even how many calories are in their drink? This situation stacks the odds heavily against policymakers and consumers attempting to live healthier lives.</p>
<p>Another problem is that policymakers and government departments often work on different unhealthy products, which fractures the collective effort for better health. For example, alcohol is managed by the ministry of justice, gambling by the ministry of internal affairs and tobacco and diet by the ministry of health.</p>
<p>A solution may lie in the government’s recently announced <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/public-service-undergoes-biggest-shake-30-years">Public Services Act</a>, which will see the creation of interdepartmental executive boards tasked with specific jobs like reducing child poverty or improving mental health. An executive board on unhealthy products could streamline the policymaking process and, most importantly, reduce and prevent the social and health costs of unhealthy products.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Chambers receives funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand. </span></em></p>
Despite repeated calls for an overhaul of New Zealand’s marketing regulations to protect children from exposure to ads for unhealthy products, successive governments have failed to act.
Tim Chambers, Research Associate in the Centre of Health Economics and Policy Innovation, Imperial College London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96610
2018-05-16T10:27:29Z
2018-05-16T10:27:29Z
Supreme Court delivers a home run for sports bettors – and now states need to scramble
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219069/original/file-20180515-195321-ljma8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People line up to place bets in the sports book at the South Point hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nev.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Supreme-Court-Sports-Betting/1b82c966901b4e96a0fa4531bfa1e6e2/8/0">AP Photo/John Locher</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On May 14, the United States Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">invalidated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act</a>, a federal law that prohibited states, aside from a few exemptions like Nevada, from allowing sports betting operations. </p>
<p>In a victory for states’ rights, the court ruled that the law unconstitutionally interfered with states’ ability to implement their own legislation on the issue.</p>
<p>So now what? As someone who studies sports wagering and gambling law, I’ve been following the case closely. While the decision marks an end to years of legal action to challenge the federal law, it also now creates a host of issues for states that are considering sports betting legislation and regulation. </p>
<h2>To legalize or not to legalize</h2>
<p>First and foremost, it’s now on states to decide whether to legalize sports betting. Many, like Pennsylvania and New York, have preemptively <a href="http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/19740480/gambling-sports-betting-bill-tracker-all-50-states">introduced or passed legislation</a> to do just that. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"996151873529925632"}"></div></p>
<p>But for those that have already legalized sports betting or end up doing so in the coming months, there’s a lot of work to be done – and decisions to be made.</p>
<p>The states that do legalize sports betting will have to decide whether it will be operated by the state, <a href="https://statelaws.findlaw.com/gambling-and-lotteries-laws/details-on-state-state-lottery-laws.html">like lotteries</a>, or if private enterprises will be allowed to offer sports bets. If private businesses are permitted, states must consider whether sports betting will be limited to certain types, such as casinos and racetracks, or if online operators and smaller retailers will also be able to participate. </p>
<p>Then there are the types of wagers that will be permitted and prohibited. Does the legalization of sports betting allow for wagering on events that are related to professional sports, such as the NBA draft? Do esports count as a “sport” for wagering purposes? Will betting on events beyond sports be legalized, too? For example, in Nevada, you can’t bet on the outcome of elections, but you can bet on approved esports events and the NBA draft. </p>
<p>States will also need to determine whether <a href="https://www.oddsshark.com/sports-betting/how-live-betting-works">live betting</a> – also known as in-running, live-game or in-game betting – will be offered. This type of wager, <a href="http://www.lootmeister.com/betting/live-betting-revolution.php">which has become increasingly popular in Nevada</a>, allows you to bet on certain aspects of the game as it unfolds. For example, at halftime of a game, you could bet on the outcome regardless of what happened in the first half.</p>
<p>There’s also the issue of how bettors will establish betting accounts and place their bets. Will they be able to do so through an app on their phones? Or must it be done in person at a licensed location?</p>
<h2>Building a regulatory framework</h2>
<p>Some elected officials think the federal government could play a role by building a regulatory template for states to follow. Before the decision, Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey had <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/politics/article/sports-betting-gambling-now-legal">already introduced legislation</a> to create one. However, Congress might not have the appetite to tackle the issue, given other priorities and the upcoming midterm elections.</p>
<p>Moreover, Nevada’s system could easily serve as a starting point for states from which to build. <a href="https://www.gamblingonline.com/laws/nevada/">Since 1949</a>, the state has been auditing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportsbook">sports books</a>, resolving patron disputes, approving technology for use in sports books, and approving wagering options.</p>
<p>So far, little has been said about the benefit the federal government will receive from an expansion of sports wagering throughout the United States. The current tax code imposes a <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/20/leagues-casinos-legal-sports-bets/">0.25 percent federal tax</a> on the total amount wagered on sports.</p>
<p>However, the sports leagues also want a cut of the bets – and have pushed for what they call an “<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-the-supreme-courts-pending-sports-gambling-decision-states-are-already-prepping-for-legalization-95360">integrity fee</a>.” But it’s really just a share of all wagers made. This could prove detrimental to sports book operators, since sports betting, by its nature, <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/sports-columns/todd-dewey/oddsmakers-cry-foul-over-nbas-proposed-integrity-fee/">is a relatively low-margin business</a> – after all, they do have to pay out on winning wagers. If states aren’t careful, integrity fees, burdensome taxes, license fees and regulatory costs might push out suitable, experienced operators – and force patrons to remain in the illegal market.</p>
<p>These are just a snapshot of issues that states will have to grapple with, and a careful, cautious and informed approach must be undertaken. But in the long term, it will serve states and bettors well: A legal, regulated market is much better than the illegal, unaccountable system that’s been operating for years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Roberts works for UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation, William S. Boyd School of Law, and S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah. She owns her own boutique law firm, Roberts Gaming Law, Ltd., and is a Director of Nevada Esports Alliance, Futuro Academy charter school, and Clark County Bar Association.</span></em></p>
With leagues lobbying for their share, a thriving illegal market that needs to be stifled, and bettors chomping at the bit, the headaches are just beginning.
Jennifer Roberts, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96618
2018-05-14T22:18:41Z
2018-05-14T22:18:41Z
Market for illegal sports betting in US is not really a $150 billion business
<p>The Supreme Court on May 14 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/05/14/what-the-supreme-courts-sports-gambling-decision-means/">struck down</a> a 25-year federal ban on sports betting outside of Nevada. </p>
<p>The big question on many minds – particular state officials and companies like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/mgm-ceo-well-have-sports-betting-in-place-very-quickly-throughout-u-s.html">MGM Resorts</a> and <a href="https://www.legalsportsreport.com/18677/draftkings-hires-head-sportsbook/">DraftKings</a> looking to cash in – is how much money is at stake. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html">Many</a> of the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-perspec-chapman-sports-betting-new-jersey-supreme-court-nfl-1231-20171229-story.html">articles</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/muhammadcohen/2018/03/22/bet-on-u-s-supreme-court-sports-wagering-verdict-to-change-the-game-in-asia/#463be628a825">on the decision</a> cite the same <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-taking-up-new-jersey-sports-betting-case/">eye-popping figure</a>: Americans wager an estimated US$150 billion in illegal sports bets every year.</p>
<p>As a <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">macro economist</a>, I am used to dealing with big numbers. Still, $150 billion struck me as much too high. To put it in perspective, that’s <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/187069/north-american-box-office-gross-revenue-since-1980/">14 times more than Americans spend</a> going to the movies, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cex/2016/aggregate/age.pdf">twice as much</a> as they put into grooming and feeding their pets and about the same as they pay for fruits, vegetables and dairy products. </p>
<p>The figure comes from the <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/about">American Gaming Association</a>, which represents the U.S. casino industry and works to reduce restrictions on gambling. It says it <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/newsroom/press-releasess/americans-wager-more-46-billion-illegally-super-bowl-52">based this number</a> on a <a href="https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html">1999 government estimate</a> of about $80 billion in illegal sports betting. The group, which describes this as “the most conservative estimate,” then adjusted it to 2017 dollars using GDP growth. </p>
<p>I’m not the first to find fault with these figures. A <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/11/adam_silver_says_there_s_400_billion_per_year_of_illegal_sports_betting.html">2014 article in Slate</a> questioned an even higher estimate, $380 billion, drawn from the same report. An examination of the underlying study showed that such estimates were not based on serious research.</p>
<p>While the figure has no real basis, it does have real impact. Numerous states need more tax revenue. If the potential dollars are big enough, then many states will rush to allow sports betting – as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/05/14/what-the-supreme-courts-sports-gambling-decision-means/">almost 20 are already doing</a>, including New Jersey, which was behind the lawsuit that resulted in the high court ruling.</p>
<h2>Real-world examples</h2>
<p>As I know from my work in economics, there are better ways to make estimates than pulling numbers out of thin air. </p>
<p>The first thing you do in such cases is look for a real-world example. In this case, data from the U.K., which has allowed sports gambling for decades, with thousands of betting parlors offering odds on everything from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40043129">Premier League matches</a> to when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/7-weirdest-things-you-can-bet-on-2013-7">royal babies are born</a>.</p>
<p>The U.K.’s Gambling Commission tracks betting statistics and <a href="http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Industry-statistics.aspx">issues an annual report</a>. The one released in January shows that Brits placed about 10 billion pounds in bets in the latest fiscal year.</p>
<p>To get a comparable estimate for the U.S., that figure needs to be adjusted by population and currency. The U.K. has only about <a href="https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html">66 million people</a>, compared with <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html">327 million</a> in the U.S. And the pound was worth $1.36 on May 14. </p>
<p>After making both adjustments, this suggests that if people in the U.S. are allowed to make bets at the same rate as in the U.K., the size of the industry would be about $67 billion a year. While enormous, that’s a far cry from $150 billion.</p>
<p>Will legal sports gambling be big business? Yes, but not as big as its proponents want you to believe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Many states are pondering making gambling on sports legal after the US Supreme Court overturned a federal ban. But is the industry really worth as much as some say it is?
Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/89467
2017-12-28T10:53:09Z
2017-12-28T10:53:09Z
The day zero was banned from British roulette – how times have changed
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200395/original/file-20171221-15899-nfaxlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feeling lucky?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart-buchanan/5123069290/in/photolist-8NH51S-cofK7w-bZSbtQ-adCstu-6nYaWa-4VzWfm-5g24oe-4VvGZg-5g6peq-4VvGZT-CF6Mf-4VvGYt-4wi2gE-5RV4Jf-5R7vhU-5R7vih-2fjjsF-fxoRZB-4Z2qPN-4MrJj7-6kzArw-6nDw8D-4UcsEB-4tF8Qa-4UcsBM-4UgEUC-4UcsCt-7Vy19g-94RARW-5ZGkPj-9wYCja-6kvsPP-tK62sK-tJXroY-nZZPo-e7xr8t-b26WFR-oPPtAH-imvhiR-34vzK6-8ZUbJy-5Q3dj7-NPbgXT-h1Egb-ipAbV-aH34ux-89twje-JfaHg-6cvqrK-5dkLUi">Stuart-Buchanan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On December 30, 1967, senior detectives from Scotland Yard sent owners of gambling clubs into a proverbial spin. Anyone operating a roulette wheel that contained the number zero would be prosecuted, they warned. From now on the whirl of numbers would all be reds and blacks – starting with the number one. </p>
<p>This warning 50 years ago followed a judgment in the House of Lords, the country’s highest court of appeal at the time, that the green zero was illegal under gaming law. According to these so-called “law lords”, this was because the chances must be equally favourable to all players in the game. </p>
<p>The Lords’ problem with the zero was that players betting on the ball landing on an individual number were being offered odds of 35/1 – put £1 on number 7 and if it came up you got £35 back plus your stake. But standard British roulette wheels have 37 numbers including zero, so the odds should have been 36/1. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200399/original/file-20171221-15867-1y50jd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Look, two zeros.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/casinofun/8271039743/in/photolist-dATeXv-btnLYK-5BuyYm-bn4edQ-4PaXB1-7KvoL8-4P6GTt-4PaWXm-dVGKM1-4P6H6c-dVGLbf-4PaXqq-5Wa28F-9o3NKs-mur8a-5kqadE-dVBaZa-qaAHVH-9FxMZC-JYEQH-5jDK8k-dVBajx-dVGLNU-7GCsL9-8CVPfn-9o8Lks-r7oX5z-4tQToy-ECVoep-9CcBKd-Whziiy-JYD8g-JYGw2-HQmQg-JYDoi-5zaMaB-EAEHDj-5g22VK-5g6puQ-JYEy2-5g23Je-JYseS-dBMxBa-5g6nTJ-44Spnq-5pyGqq-JYi1U-JYEjP-5CtrZ4-bHxaUc">Casino Fun</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>This discrepancy gave the house an edge of 2.7% – the proportion of times the ball would randomly fall into the zero slot. (Note that in the US and South America roulette wheels normally have both a zero and double zero, giving them a house edge of just over 5%). </p>
<p>The British edge on roulette wheels was a small one, such that someone staking £10 on a spin would expect statistically to lose an average of 27 pence. But it’s a vital one. Without an edge on a game the operator would expect only to break even, and that’s before accounting for running costs. The Lords’ decision also looked like the back door to banning every other game with a house edge, such as blackjack and baccarat.</p>
<h2>Casinos royale</h2>
<p>It had been illegal in the UK to organise and manage the playing of games of chance since the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1845/109/pdfs/ukpga_18450109_en.pdf">Gaming Act of 1845</a>. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/1/newsid_2969000/2969846.stm">Betting and Gaming Act 1960</a> was the most substantive change to gambling regulation since then. As well as permitting the likes of betting shops and pub fruit machines, it opened the door to gambling halls – though only in a very restricted way. </p>
<p>Designed to permit small-stakes play on bridge in members’ clubs, the act legalised gaming clubs so long as they took their money from membership fees and from charges to cover the cost of the gaming facilities. Casinos soon proliferated, however, and by the mid-1960s around a thousand had sprung up. </p>
<p>Many introduced French-style roulette, with wheels that included a single zero, since the law had arguably not been clear as to whether the house could have an edge. The one variation thought necessary by some to comply with the legislation was that when the ball landed on zero the house and player split the stake, instead of it being kept by the house. </p>
<p>Not only had the law liberalised gambling more than had been envisaged by the government of the day, many casinos had apparent ties to organised crime. London gaming quickly became notorious. Film star <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706368/bio">George Raft</a>, a man once linked to such shady characters as Las Vegas mobster <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/notable_names/benjamin-bugsy-siegel/">Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel</a>, was one of the more high-profile names <a href="http://www.gamingfloor.com/features/mafia_london/mafia_lon.htm">associated with</a> the scene.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200396/original/file-20171221-15867-171txtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Man about town: film star George Raft (left).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Raft_and_Yvonne_DeCarlo_(214260208).jpg#/media/File:George_Raft_and_Yvonne_DeCarlo_(214260208).jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>When the Lords drew a line in the sand in 1967 by banning zeros in roulette, gaming bodies went into overdrive. One proposal designed to save the zero was to offer odds of 36/1 on individual numbers, and instead levy a playing charge on the players. </p>
<h2>Let the games begin …</h2>
<p>The government was soon persuaded it needed to legislate again. In 1968 a new <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/65">Gaming Act</a> introduced a Gaming Board and strict measures to regulate and police gaming in Great Britain. New licensing rules, including a “fit and proper persons” test, pushed out the shady operators. </p>
<p>The one concession to the industry was that gaming clubs and casinos would be permitted to play roulette with a zero. Other games with a house edge, such as baccarat, blackjack and craps were also explicitly permitted. In an environment of regulated, licensed gaming establishments, the government was saying, a small edge was acceptable as a way of paying for costs and turning a profit. </p>
<p>This came on the back of another reform that was vital for developing the industry that we see today. Following the legalisation of betting shops in 1960, the government began taxing their turnover <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1966/18/pdfs/ukpga_19660018_en.pdf">in 1966</a>. It was the first tax on betting since the one <a href="http://www.economicissues.org.uk/Files/2014/214LVW.pdf">introduced in 1926</a> by then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, in the days before cash bookmaking was legal and above board.</p>
<p>“I am not looking for trouble. I am looking for revenue,” Churchill declared at the time. He didn’t see much of the latter and got a lot of the former: endless enforcement difficulties and opposition from lobby groups and in parliament. The tax was gone by 1930. </p>
<p>Yet the 1966 tax stuck, and today the UK gambling landscape is much changed – not only because of the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/19/newsid_3702000/3702998.stm">introduction of</a> the National Lottery in 1994 but thanks also in large measure to two key pieces of modernising legislation. The first was the <a href="http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/20898/1/196054_154%20Vaughan%20williams%20Post%20Print.pdf">radical overhaul</a> of betting taxation in 2001 and the other was the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200304/jtselect/jtgamb/uc139-iv/uc13902.htm">Gambling Act of 2005</a>, both of which I was closely involved with as an adviser. </p>
<p>Instead of taxing betting turnover, now operators are taxed on their winnings (gross profits). Casinos, betting shops and online operators can advertise on radio and TV; players no longer need to be members of casinos to visit them; and online operators based overseas but active in the UK market must comply with UK licence requirements. </p>
<p>Betting exchanges allow people to bet person-to-person, a Gambling Commission regulates betting and gaming, and electronic roulette with a zero is legally available in betting shops and casinos. </p>
<p>The industry as a whole has grown very <a href="http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Gambling-key-facts.aspx">significantly in size</a> and employs a lot of people, and there is more evidence-based research and focus on the issue of <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.576.2072&rep=rep1&type=pdf">gambling prevalence</a> and <a href="http://about.gambleaware.org/">problem gambling</a> than ever before. The wheel has certainly turned a long way since that Lords decision in 1967, when the country was still trying to decide what kind of gambling system it wanted. The question that now divides opinion is how far the wheel has turned for the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89467/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leighton Vaughan Williams has produced commissioned reports and expert witness evidence on the taxation, regulation, economic impacts and prevalence of gambling for HM Revenue and Customs, DCMS, Gambling Commission, Joint Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the Competition Commission. He has also acted as a special adviser to the National Audit Office on the taxation of gambling.</span></em></p>
On December 30, 1967 the UK’s highest court drew a line in the sand over the rise of casinos. Here’s what happened next.
Leighton Vaughan Williams, Professor of Economics and Finance. Director of the Betting Research Unit and the Political Forecasting Unit at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.