Since becoming legal, the marketing of sports gambling has so deeply infiltrated society that it has become literally intertwined with sport viewing itself.  Odds are given during broadcasts, commentators choose their “same day parlays” and apps for betting are highlighted.  The suggestion is that true sports fans don’t just watch games, they “join the action” by placing bets.  This deep intertwining reflects the fact that four major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and MLS) have deals with sportsbook operators.  It is now nearly impossible to watch a professional sporting competition without being continually encouraged to place a bet.

Society needs to restrict the marketing of sports gambling as soon as possible. It reflects a weaponization of psychology that is designed to create addictions.  This is not hyperbole.  A headline for The Hill reads “Sports betting has risen tenfold in three years. Addiction experts fear the next opioid crisis.” A Harris Poll from November 2022 reported that 71% of those who bet on sports did so at least once a week with 20% betting once per day!  The website suicide.ca has an entire page dedicated to helping those with gambling addictions.

Sports gambling is so dangerous because of the psychological power of random rewards.  When players gamble, they lose more often than they win, However, the random nature of wins means they never know when that next win is coming.  They start chasing that next win.  At the neuroscientific level, the hormone dopamine is released when one is chasing a desired outcome and this release feels good, literally the thrill of the chase.  Each loss can make the player feel one step closer to that next win, which always feels like it’s just around the corner.  This makes the player “resistant to extinction”.  Once they start, they don’t want to stop, especially after a string of losses.

The best way to prevent gambling addictions is to minimize the number of people who try gambling in the first place.  As every gambling institution knows, their only real challenge is to get people playing.  If they can do that, the psychology of random rewards will do the rest.

When it comes to marketing then, sports gambling companies augment the psychology of random rewards with other psychological phenomena intended to get people playing.  As described by Cialdini in his book “Six Principles of Persuasion” these principles are each powerful forces on their own.  In combination they reflect a weaponization of psychology that targets anyone who can be convinced to give it a try, luring them into the world of random rewards and addiction.  The primary psychological phenomenon used include the following.

Authority & Liking – Although these two principles are distinct, in this context they are often related.  Put simply, people are more likely to be persuaded to engage in some act if that act is endorsed by someone in authority, or someone the person likes and respects.  Given how intertwined gambling has become with sports, often it is the commentators (authorities) who are endorsing bets.  Ads for sports betting often feature popular athletes: commercials featuring Wayne Gretsky and Conner McDavid come to mind.

Commitment – People like to think of themselves as consistent in their identities.  Ads for sports gambling often describe it as something that truly dedicated fans do.  The ads play on one’s commitment and encourage sports viewers to truly “join the game” rather than “watching from the sidelines.”

Consensus – Humans are social creatures and we often shape our behaviour to be consistent with social norms.  Sports broadcasts and ads normalize gambling behaviour.  They make it seem like it’s what everyone does, something that makes the enjoyment of sport better and that’s why “everyone is doing it”.  This is the true danger of the almost complete intertwining of gambling and sport broadcast.

Of course, the people depicted in gambling ads are typically attractive people who are having fun and winning, seeding the feel of winning, and selling the desire to chase.  Everything about these ads is designed to make audiences think the gambling is normal, fun, approved of by those they respect, and the next step that any “real sports fan” would take.

We do not allow marketers to similarly market other dangerous products like cigarettes or vaping in this manner.  Yes, we allow people to engage in those activities, but we are not actively harnessing the power of psychology to bring them to the activities, subjecting them to the force of random rewards.  We need to take the same approach to sports gambling, the sooner the better.