American Gaming Association (AGA) announces updates to responsible marketing code for sports wagering
American Gaming Association updates Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering to protect college-aged bettors and ban "risk-free" promotion
The AGA has updated its Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, which sets the industry standard for marketing and advertising of sports wagering. The updates include increased protections for college-aged bettors and a ban on the use of the term "risk-free" promotion. The changes were developed in collaboration with AGA members and are the most significant to the code since its inception. The ban on the term “risk-free” in advertising has already happened in some states, and FanDuel, DraftKings, and others have all moved away from the terminology.
The update enhances protections for college-aged audiences by prohibiting college partnerships that promote, market or advertise sports wagering activity and sportsbook NIL deals for amateur and college athletes. The changes also add age restrictions (21+) for any individual featured in sports betting advertising, modify all references to the “legal age of wagering” to 21-plus, and formalize an annual process for reviewing and updating the code.
According to AGA President and CEO Bill Miller, the changes are necessary to keep up with developments in the fast-growing legal sports betting industry, which currently operates in 33 states plus Washington, D.C. The updated standards go into effect immediately, with a grace period for existing or deployed assets until July 1, 2023.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, praised the new rules, saying that the code is important because many sports fans are underage and that people who gamble on sports have higher rates of gambling problems.