As the sun came up on Jan. 1, many BHS students saw a glut of advertisements for online sports gambling appear on their social media. 

Sophomore Michael Karas was one of the students who noticed the uptick in ads.

“Online sports gambling has taken over my phone, especially on TikTok,” he wrote in a text. “Games have it, as well as Hulu. Every other commercial break I have on that is an ad for a sports-gambling company.” 

While sports gambling is now legal in Ohio, it is not legal for people under 21, and it is not legal for sports betting companies to target advertising to underage customers. However, some companies have already been caught violating these rules.

Ohio House Bill 29, which had been signed into law in Dec. 2021, finally went into effect in January, allowing sports betting at four brick and mortar casinos as well as online. 

“[The bill] legalizes and regulates sports gaming (betting) in Ohio through sports gaming proprietors licensed and regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC),” according to the bill’s final legislative summary. 

Although HB 29 took years to make its way through the legislature, its impact was immediately apparent to teens.

A Beachcomber survey of BHS students found that 50% of respondents had seen DraftKings advertisements multiple times in the first weeks after gambling became legal in Ohio, and almost half of those had seen the advertisements 15 or more times.

Students saw advertisements from other companies as well, but not as frequently as DraftKings.

Previously sports betting was not unheard of in Ohio. Fans could place bets on illicit websites and apps, but since it was illegal, companies could not advertise.

Sportsbooks, like casinos, are taxed heavily by state governments, and Ohio was losing tax revenue to neighboring states, according to an article by Ethan Matthew published in Forbes.

“Sportsbooks are taxed at a 10% rate. Four of the five states surrounding Ohio have sports betting already, so keeping Ohioans home will boost the state’s tax revenue,” Matthew wrote. 

In short, increasing the amount of gambling increases the state’s tax revenue and helps fund schools. House Bill 29 stipulates that 98% of the tax revenue is placed in the Sports Gaming Profits Education Fund (SGPEF), which is used to fund schools in Ohio.

However, critics argue that legalization of sports gaming may cause more problems than profit.

Studies have shown that gambling is addictive, just like alcohol, nicotine, opioids and other drugs, and people under the age of 21 are  substantially more at risk due to the adolescent stage of brain development.

An addictive activity such as gambling impacts more people when it is advertised. While some think sports gambling is just for fun, Vin Bickler, a recovering gambling addict, disagrees.

“The advertising is just like the old beer ads and the cigarette ads that were on TV for years. It’s the same situation…People are being sucked into thinking that it’s glamorous, thinking they’re going to win, and they don’t win. In the end, they lose everything.” Bickler told NPR.

The risk of problem gambling increases substantially when the brain is not yet fully developed, as in the case of high school students.

The surge in sports gambling advertisements that many BHS students saw on their social media in early January raises the question of whether sports betting advertisements were being actively targeted to teens.

Beginning this year, Meta has started to restrict the ability of advertisers to target teens on Facebook and Instagram. The company is no longer allowing advertisers to target teens based on gender. However, advertisers are still able to target teens as a demographic. Advertisers view Snapchat and TikTok as particularly effective tools for reaching a teenage demographic.

Some students believe that online advertisers are sophisticated enough to prevent underage people from seeing the ads.

“I watch every Ohio sports team, so my phone has a lot of sports applications and subscriptions on it. The algorithms for the advertisements probably detected that and sent me the advertisements,” wrote one Beachcomber survey respondent who wished to remain anonymous.

“If they’re able to detect that, can’t they also detect my schoolwork? Or like, the fact that I’m underage?” he continued.

Jessica Franks, spokesperson for the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), explained some of the rules that regulate the new sportsbooks operating in Ohio. 

“In Ohio, advertising and targeting gambling ads towards people under the ages of 21 is strictly prohibited.” Franks said. 

“So, obviously, if [the sportsbooks] are in fact targeting their advertisements towards high school students, that’s going to be an issue, because you have to be 21 years or older to place a wager.” she continued.

“The vast majority of folks who place a wager can do so without a problem, but we do recognize that there are some folks for whom gambling is an issue, and can present problems in their daily lives,” she said.

Due to the possible life-altering consequences that can result from problem gambling, Ohio and other states regulate advertisements for gambling to protect people who may have issues managing their habits. The OCCC is the agency that regulates gambling in Ohio.

The Commission has already sanctioned some sports gaming companies for flouting the advertising rules.

DraftKings, BetMGM and Caeser’s, all sportsbooks that now have the ability to operate in Ohio, broke the clear rules for advertisements, such as promoting ‘risk-free’ bets.

“Our rules state that if an advertisement or promotion refers to a ‘free bet’ or ‘risk-free’ it truly has to be free to the patron,” Franks said. “In this case, they weren’t, because the patron can’t be asked to wager or deposit any of their own money in order to obtain those promotional funds.”

The OCCC was also concerned that sportsbooking companies did not provide a clear message on problem gambling. 

“[The OCCC] did have to send some very explicit guidance to operators prior to launch when we started to notice these very consistent violations such as when the message either wasn’t there or was in very tiny font and impossible to read.” Franks said. “We issued those guidelines prior to the launch of sports-gaming in Ohio and informed all of them they needed to take whatever steps necessary to bring their ads into compliance.”

It’s important that information about problem gambling is included in every gambling advertisement so that Ohioans can combat their struggles with addiction, which is one of the main goals of the Commission.

Unfortunately, in spite of warnings from the OCCC, sports gambling companies kept breaking the rules.

“When we continued to see violations after launch and after these repeated attempts to get them to comply, the Commission took action against Caesar’s, BetMGM, and DraftKings.”

On Jan. 5, the companies were fined $150,000 each.

Matthew Schuler, Executive Director of the OCCC, commented on the action in a press release later that day. 

“The sports gaming industry has received multiple reminders of the rules and standards for advertising and promotions, yet continues to disregard Ohio law,” he wrote. “The Commission takes responsible gambling seriously – and expects the industry to value the same.”

But that was not the only violation.

On Feb. 15, Barstool Sportsbook and DraftKings settled with the OCCC for a combined $750,000.

Barstool will pay $250,000 in fines to the OCCC for a live event they held outside the University of Toledo’s football stadium on Nov. 15, 2022.

This live show was a violation of two regulations specified by the OCCC: promoting near a college campus, and targeting customers under 21.

DraftKings will pay $500,000 in fines to the OCCC due to a double infraction. 

Their first offense were the advertisements that mentioned risk-free bets, which was in violation of the OCCC’s “explicit guidance” and the second offense found DraftKings in some hot water. 

DraftKings was accused in December of mailing advertisements to under-age people. 

“DraftKings mailed advertisements for its sports-betting app in November, and approximately 2,500 ads were directly addressed to people under the age of 21.” Franks told Cleveland.com.

The Commission also stated in a Dec. 30 press release that DraftKings may also be required to implement new procedures so that advertisements aren’t directed at anyone whose age has not been verified to be 21.

At publication, DraftKings has not responded to a request for comment. 

If you or someone you know needs help with a gambling addiction, please call 1-800-522-4700 for the National Problem Gambling Helpline.