Pro leagues mull sports betting opportunities, challenges
While the sports betting market has unleashed an influx of technology and equipment, locations that host betting kiosks and sportsbooks assess the attendant opportunities and challenges, including professional leagues.
Casey Clark of the American Gaming Association hosts Scott Warfield, PGA Tour, Lee Villalobos, MLB and Jonathan Nabavi, NFL at the Global Gaming Expo. Photo: Networld Media Group.
Sports betting kiosks continue to proliferate nationwide as more states legalize sports betting.
And while the market has unleashed an influx technology and equipment, locations that host sports betting kiosks and sportsbooks are busy assessing the attendant opportunities and challenges from this expanding market, including professional sports leagues.
The branding opportunity sports betting has fostered was on full display at last week's Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas where Aristocrat Gaming featured NFL Super Bowl Jackpots slot machines the company introduced to casinos at the start of the 2023 National Football League season. This marks the first time the public will be able to play NFL-themed slot machines.
The expo also hosted representatives of three professional leagues — the NFL, Major League Baseball and the PGA Tour — who offered an update on how they view sports betting. Casey Clark, senior vice president of the American Gaming Association, which sponsored the show at the Venetian Expo, moderated the discussion.
Pro teams recognize the opportunity
"The teams have really become more involved," said panelist Leonardo Villalobos, counsel for sports betting and compliance investigations for Major League Baseball. "I think it follows a trend of making stadiums more like the center of an entertainment district. We've seen that with the plans for new stadiums that are happening."
Retail sportsbooks help make the stadium a destination outside of the game days, Villalobos said. Revenue is not the main focus of the retail sportsbooks for stadiums as much as being an amenity.
And while the teams are interested in having sportsbooks and sports betting kiosks, they are not looking to operate them, the panelists agreed. Villalobos said the league has trademarks, data and video tools to provide sports betting operators.
DraftKings Inc., a sports betting operator, and PGA Tour recently announced a ribbon cutting for the DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale, scheduled to open Friday.
Panelist Scott Warfield, vice president of gaming at PGA Tour, said the Scottsdale sportsbook will add to the allure of the golf course, although he did not think retail sportsbooks will be commonplace on golf courses nationally.
Responsible gaming takes center stage
Much of the conversation focused on the importance of promoting responsible gaming as gaming opportunities expand.
"We don't do it because we have to do it…it's the right thing to do," Warfield said, adding that PGA Tour has held extensive discussions on the topic internally. His organization has also discussed the topic with leagues, sportsbook operators and other stakeholders.
State governments are also examining laws to promote responsible gaming, Villalobos said, making it important for leagues to be involved in government affairs.
Beyond discussing responsible gaming from a fan perspective, Villalobos said the league is also examining it from a player's perspective. He recently met with college athletes in the interest of educating himself on why athletes might be more susceptible to gambling and how it might impact them. "That's an angle that we are looking at more closely," Villalobos said. The league is exploring what resources it can offer athletes who might need them.
"How do we figure out a way to bring the right kind of messaging?" asked panelist Jonathan Nabavi, vice president of public policy and government affairs at the National Football League, adding that it is a good idea to have athletes involved in messaging responsible gaming. "I would love to see that in the responsible gaming focus."
Responsible betting advertising
The discussion on responsible gaming also raised the subject of responsible sports betting advertising. The panelists agreed there need to be some restrictions on gaming advertising.
To this end, Nabavi said leagues and some operators have formed a coalition on responsible sports betting advertising.
"I'm really pleased that a number of leagues and our broadcast partners came together to think about collectively and commit to a coalition effort on responsible sports betting advertising," he said.
To this end, Villalobos said the leagues have capped sports betting commercials.
"Maybe the move forward is that we provide further incentives to kind of like encourage operators to use their allotment…for RG (responsible gaming) focused spots," he said.
One way to limit in-play betting is to limit game play time, he said, as there is less time to set prices, open the market, close the market and hold bets.
The average length of the MLB game this year was two hours and 40 minutes compared to over three hours the year before, he said.
Progress cited
Given that one goal of legalizing sports betting was to reduce illegal betting, the panelists agreed that progress has been made since the 2018 Supreme Court decision to allow all 50 states to permit sports betting.
Clark of the AGA said whether the court got it completely right is a legal question, but he prefers the current situation to pre-2018.
Sports betting, provided largely but not exclusively by sports betting kiosks, reached $5.46 billion this past July, exceeding the same period in the previous year by 63.1%, according to the association.
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
