A popular HBO weekly show that features satirical looks at current events took aim at the sports betting industry Sunday.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver called out sportsbooks, sweepstakes operators, parlay bettors, professional sports leagues, and more.
“The influence of these (sports betting) companies on sports now is just unmistakable,” Oliver, a well-known comedian said. “Logos of the companies are on the field or on the floor, on the uniforms, and even whatever the f***ing those ice scrapers are called at hockey games.”
Oliver led off his show with a playful look at animals picking Super Bowl winners but then quickly moved into the industry's advertising segment, showing promos for DraftKings, BetMGM, ESPN BET, Caesars Sportsbook, and FanDuel.
Oliver used numerous articles to present many of his points, including the $430 million operators spent on national TV ads last year.
“Sports betting is clearly not just for animals anymore, as you’ve no doubt been reminded by approximately 10 million ads,” Oliver said. “Those ads are everywhere and they feature every imaginable scenario, from Jamie Foxx in what in any other circumstance would be a pretty great R&B video to America’s whitest little brother (Eli Manning) talking to himself in a mirror.”
After showing a graphic that states parlays make up over half of sports betting revenue, Last Week Tonight summed up the appeal of multi-leg betting.
"People love parlays because there’s a chance they might pay off huge,” Oliver said. "Companies love parlays because they generally don’t."
Going after operators
After giving a brief history of PASPA getting overturned in 2018, letting states legalize sports betting, and the industry's rise through partnerships with sports leagues like the NFL, Oliver dove deep into gambling addictions. He showed a study that says 1% of adults have a severe gambling problem while 2% to 3% have a mild or moderate problem, amounting to 7.5 million to 10.5 million people.
“Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you gambling is bad. It kind of is, but I’m not going to tell you that,” Oliver said. “Gambling is sort of fun, especially if you’re good at it which no one is, but it is fun. Playing poker with your friends, taking part in an office March Madness bracket, even taking a weekend trip to Vegas. For most people, these can be fun, generally harmless things. But they also tend to be time or location dependent. The thing is, with modern betting apps, you can gamble all the time on just about anything and people do.”
He touched on bettors in Oregon wagering $57 million on table tennis, fourth behind basketball, football, and baseball. Many matches occur in Poland and offer addictive live betting.
He also called out sportsbook VIP programs, saying they target customers and keep addicts playing. He chastised operators for not using their data collecting to help identify people who need help. Oliver also hit on sportsbooks “weeding out winners” who have too much success.
“Every part of this system is set up to reel gamblers in and keep them playing,” Oliver said. "The whole sports ecosystem is suffused with it.”
Shot at sweepstakes
Oliver also challenged the controversial sweepstakes gaming companies. Oliver said the social games attract underaged teens, letting them circumvent traditional sports betting laws and introduce them to the industry.
“Yeah, it’s not gambling. It’s a social, free-to-play sweepstakes with micro-transactions that pay out real cash if you win available to teens when their brains are the most impressionable,” Oliver quipped. “What could possibly go wrong there?”
Maryland, New Jersey, and Mississippi are among a growing list of states trying to pass laws that would ban sweepstakes gaming, which offers players free coins to play casino games and bet on sports but lets them purchase more and exchange them for cash and prizes.
Suggesting improvements
Oliver didn’t complete his show before offering advice on how he thinks the U.S. sports betting and gaming industry could improve and protect consumers.
He called for a ban on college player props, something NCAA President Charlie Baker asked from state legislators and regulators in Mar. 2024. Like Baker, Oliver believes it will cut down on the social media harassment student-athletes receive when they don’t reach their player prop numbers.
Oliver also said VIP programs that entice people to keep betting should be restricted. He said efforts to stop companies from keeping players hooked by offering them prizes, game tickets, and bonus bets have helped problem gambling in the U.K.
As for the ads, it wasn’t all about jokes during the show. Oliver wants to see a change in how operators are allowed on TV.
“Honestly, it feels like years from now, we’re going to look back on this era and say, ‘What were we doing?’ We can change the trajectory here,” Oliver said. “We did it with cigarette advertising. I would argue, that at the very least, we have some of the same advertising restrictions on these apps that we put on cigarettes. And until that time, those ads should have to be much more reflective of what these companies actually do to people.”
