By Staff Writer: Morganne Guhl
In professional sports, there has always been a line between the sports and gambling companies; unfortunately, recently, this has become blurred, raising questions.
Sports and betting have always gone hand in hand. There’s evidence that the public would gamble on who would win as far back as the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. However, there has also been the expectation of integrity by members of the sport. Players won’t throw matches for money either in the form of bribes or personal bets; the same goes for managers and owners. When the 1919 Baseball World Series scandal occurred, where eight White Sox players threw the game, it led to such furious public baseball that the organization that had run baseball for years was disbanded, and a current format took its place. Almost all professional sports organizations have rules in their charter stating that organizational members are not allowed to gamble in their sports during the session. But this is slowly changing; gambling companies have found a weak link in the chain and exploited it, called the internet.
Over the past two decades, as the internet has become a key component of our daily lives, betting organizations have used it to reach larger audiences and get people gambling globally. Both federal and state laws have been loosened to allow the public to bet more easily and frequently than ever before. Slick apps have been produced, so with just a few simple clicks, you can bet on games from almost anywhere in the world. And with sports games on now at any given time, there is that much more chance for betting.
The ads for these gambling brands run during commercial breaks, on social media, and on the radio. These companies have also aggressively pushed into the podcast place. Any sports podcast with even the smallest public notoriety has a sponsorship with one of the significant betting brands. An interesting case of this happened on the Travis and Jason Kelce podcast, New Heights, one of the most popular sports podcasts hosted by two active players. While the brothers announced the sponsorship, they had a former NFL player friend talk about the actual betting. It allows them to have a gambling partnership, which is enormous in revenue, without breaking any NFL rules during the session. Situations like these show the gray areas in sports betting.
These companies will also sponsor the pre and post-shows, making sure any viewer will remember their brands. Even the sports teams are sponsored by these gambling conglomerates, and some teams have giant logos on their jerseys highlighting the company. With these happenings, it is little wonder that more sports organization members, including players, have been found betting on games and receiving fines and suspensions for betting.
The sports and gambling world are getting closer together than ever before, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before we have another 1919 World Series. Would anyone be surprised?