When Do Sports Betting Ads Become Too Much?

• Ulrich Mäurer plans to propose new rules that would ban all sports betting advertisements in Germany at the Conference of Federal States’ Interior Ministers in December.
• Google has pulled all sports betting advertisements from Florida after judge Dabney Friedrich ruled the updated Seminole Gaming Compact was illegally implemented and void.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With rules prohibiting all sports betting advertising brought forth by the German government, the German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) has shown criticism toward the idea.

The proposal was brought forth by Ulrich Mäurer, who believes it would be the best method to combat problem gambling. He plans to take the issue before the Conference of Federal States’ Interior Ministers in December.

The DSWV, however, believes that banning gambling advertisements would harm the consumer by making it more difficult to differentiate between legal sports betting sites and unlicensed sports betting sites.

“Since there are still many illegal providers active on the German market, the possibility of advertising for permitted providers is of central importance. How else should citizens differentiate between safe and unsafe offers?” said DSWV President Mathias Dahms.

It is not just that, though, that is getting the DSWV up in arms: Brehmen, in conjunction with representatives from each of the other 15 German states, approved the latest version of the country’s gambling treaty, which specifically covers advertising. The DSWV believes this makes any advertising ban illegal, as it runs contrary to the treaty.

“In years of negotiations, the federal states have found a good balance between making legal gambling visible to the public, and addressing concerns around youth and player protection. We assume that the Conference of Interior Ministers will be bound by the resolutions of all 16 state parliaments on the State Treaty on Gambling,” said Dahms.

The data seems to be on the DSWV’s side: a Handelsblatt Research Institute study suggests that the implementation of the gambling treaty, which features a complex tax and regulation code on providers and advertisers, would lead to a 40% increase in unregulated gambling. The DSWV argues that the potential advertising ban will only drive more users offshore. This would definitely lead to a reduction in Germany’s sports betting tax revenue, and potentially put gamblers at risk if they do not properly vet their offshore gambling site.

Not Just An Overseas Issue

Controversy over gambling advertisements is not confined to Germany, however, as the United States is facing its own gambling advertising issue.

After U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich overturned the most recent gaming compact between the state of Florida and its Seminole Tribe this month, Google has responded by pulling all gambling advertisements in the state.

Google Ads, Google’s online advertising service, released a statement saying:

“In November 2021, the Google Ads Gambling and games policy’s United States country-specifics will be updated to disallow Sports Betting in Florida. We will begin enforcing the policy clarification on November 24, 2021.”

The Seminole Tribe has filed a motion of appeal, meaning that a higher court may still hear the case and overturn Judge Friedrich’s ruling; this would likely lead to Google changing course on their advertising policy in the state.

News tags: Conference of Federal States’ Interior Ministers | Dabney Friedrich | Florida | German Sports Betting Association | Germany | Google | Google Ads | Handelsblatt Research Institute | Mathias Dahms | Seminole Tribe | U.S. District Court | Ulrich Mäurer | United States