CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Ohio Casino Control Commission on Friday scolded but did not take action against bookmakers accused of not following advertising rules a week ahead of the official launch of legal wagering.
When promoting sports betting, bookmakers are supposed to maintain responsible gaming messaging that is “conspicuous” and does not target people under the age of 21. However, the commission charged that some of the early advertisements have not followed regulations.
“We understand mistakes happen, but it is not a mistake when it appears to be this consistent,” the commission said in an email Friday to sports gaming sites.
Though the commission said it has been warning since June that failure to meet advertising standards will result in administrative action, “we do not seek to take administrative action,” the email said. “We do not seek to manage the industry’s advertising.”
Instead, the commission asked operators to “immediately review their advertising materials” to ensure compliance. It is also updated some of the advertising information on its frequently asked questions webpage “to hopefully better help stakeholders comport with the law.”
While the commission does not approve advertisements or promotions or set size or audio requirements for responsible gaming messages, it says it expects the industry to show “courtesy” and “act in accordance with your stated goals on responsible gambling.”
That also means making sure the gambling addiction helpline and responsible gaming messaging “be at least nearly as clear, legible, and audible” as the rest of the advertisement, the commission said. Yet, some of the early ads have either had hard to read messages or lacked them entirely, according to the commission.
“An advertisement should not have to be zoomed in on, slowed down, or the volume turned up for an individual to see or hear a helpline number,” the email said. “To be clear, conspicuous certainly is not having the responsible gambling tagline in the smallest font, lowest voice, or fastest speech in the advertisement.”
The warning comes after the commission recently issued a violation to Penn Entertainment, which takes bets under the Barstool Sportsbook brand name, for breaking advertising rules. The commission also said it planned to deny an application from PlayUp Interactive for reportedly accepting illegal bets from people in the U.S.
Sports betting will become legal in Ohio on Jan. 1.