The American Gambling Association (AGA) has labelled a UK study as “irresponsible and a misrepresentation” of the facts, which asserts that major US gambling operators are not adhering to responsible gaming regulations. This follows a report by the Guardian citing research from the University of Bristol. The study claimed that four top US betting platforms—BetMGM, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, and FanDuel—neglected to include problem gambling (PG) messages in 74.8% of their unsponsored social media posts over a week during the summer.
The researchers examined a total of 1,353 posts, revealing that the companies together averaged 237 messages and advertisements daily, with these posts reaching approximately 29 million views. The British researchers indicated that nearly three-quarters of these posts could potentially violate the AGA’s code, which mandates that all advertisements carry a “prominent message about responsible gambling” alongside a toll-free hotline number.
In response, the AGA contends that the posts in question were not classified as advertisements. They argue that these publications were focused on enhancing brand awareness rather than enticing social media users to place bets.
