Nowadays, it seems like nothing can stop the growth of sports betting in the U.S. Since the Supreme Court first allowed states the option of legalizing mobile betting in 2018, it has taken off in ways that few people could have predicted. Based on data from usalegalbetting.com, nearly 40 states have legalized sports betting either online or on mobile devices. Just a half dozen years ago, that would have been hard to believe.
Even those who don’t participate in sports betting can’t help but notice the vast amount of marketing and advertising present from prominent sportsbooks. These platforms are being promoted everywhere and partnering with both pro sports teams and entire leagues. This has left some to wonder if African Americans are being targeted specifically by the sports betting industry.
“All you have to do is go to podcast platforms hosted by athletes,” explains Robert Smith, director of the African American Legacy Project of Northwest Ohio. “They are usually presenting a betting line. And they appeal to people who dream of a windfall profit — people who don’t have a lot of discretionary income. So if you’re asking me are the sports betting companies marketing to African-Americans, the answer is yes. They’re asking people to take a risk.”
By looking closely at the advertisements and promotional materials being created by betting platforms, it’s impossible not to notice an abundance of the celebrity spokespeople are black. That would appear to point toward an aggressive approach by the industry to target a black audience with such advertisements.
“Is the sports betting industry consciously and specifically targeting African-Americans as potential customers? Absolutely,” says Los Angeles-based attorney Antonio Moore. “You see it in Black content creators becoming paid promoters from Joe Budden to Shannon Sharpe to Gilbert Arenas. The gambling industry runs national commercials with Kevin Hart and Jamie Foxx nonstop. This in my opinion is to target a core audience found in Black homes.”
Moore adds that a show hosted by Sharpe, a former NFL tight end, is plugging a sportsbook in its advertisements while the promos for Colin Cowherd’s radio show are talking about mental health. He says it’s no coincidence that a show hosted by a black man like Sharpe is pushing sports betting whereas Cowherd, a white man, is reading prompts promoting health services. Moore compares it to Camel cigarettes using a cartoon of Joe Camel in the 1990s to make cigarettes more appealing to young audiences.
Perhaps the silver lining is that this issue hasn’t gone unnoticed. Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko of New York is pushing legislation that would essentially ban advertisements for sports betting.
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