ECONOMIC issue- Gambling and Sport Flashcards
(16 cards)
What were the outlines of this lecture?
To develop a current understanding of the issues and debates surrounding gambling
Assess how betting influences the way we enjoy and consume sports
Analyse structural factors behind gambling- related issues such as the normalisation of gambling.
What’s the historical context of sport and gambling?
Have a long on and off relationship.
Ancient union: chariot racing/ gladiators.
Medieval separation: seen as immoral and considered sinful.
Pre-modern union: foot-races, cricket- became an essential part of sport
Capital for professionalisation.
What are the twin dynamics of ethics and money?
(Villeneuve & Diaconu, 2011)
Opportunity vs Risk trade off
-Opportunities (popularity and profits) vs risks (social harms- gambling brings harms to sport).
-A scale- on one end POPULARITY and PROFITS and on the other SOCIAL LEGITIMACY.
What has been done in the past in relation to gambling?
English Football (Huggins, 2017)- debarred players from wagering in 1901. Wanted to paralyse the betting and gambling at the time, but sadly failed.
North America- tried to separate baseball from gambling due to the ‘Black Sox Scandal’- 1991
8 Players fixed the World Series
National pastime ruined
What was the Black Sox Scandal?
The Black Sox Scandal was a game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for payment from a gambling syndicate, possibly led by organised crime figure Arnold Rothstein.
What was behind the contemporary reunion of sports and gambling?
Welfare states/ casino stares- a form of risk management economically.
Global financial crisis in the 1970’s
The emergence of state sponsored gambling as a response= a new way of generating revenues (Cosgrave & Klassen, 2001, p. 13)
= Contradictory roles of the state as the state-gambling promoter and the protector of morals and citizens.
How did states legitimise gambling?
- ECONOMIC UTILITY- economic stimulation, job creation, charitable causes- EPL, National Lottery
- REBRANDING AS LEISURE/ RECREATIONAL= functionality
- INDIVIDUAL RISK/ RESPONSIBILITY- it’s on you, placed on individuals
“a failure of that person to take care of himself or herself” (Greco, 1993, p. 361, cited in Lupton, 2006)
- MEDICALISATION OF THE PROBLEM- de-stigmatises.
How did the legalisation of gambling take place?
The 1970’s- Canada
1990’s- NZ
UK Gambling Act of 2005- deregulated gambling advertising (Light, 2007)
Common rationales
* Expanding illegal/grey markets – ‘it’s already happening anyway’
* Consumer protection
* Tax revenues for good causes- lottery
What three things make up the key intersections of sport and gambling contemporary relationship?
- Sport is one of the games to bet on (betting normalised)
- Sport is a tool for advertising
- Allows funding for sports development- lottery money, UK Sports
Are betting advertisements getting out of hand?
TV advertising
* Cassidy and Ovenden (2017): 250 instances per MOD episode
Excessive Marketing due to identical products * Streaming
* Bonuses
Sponsorship
* Kit sponsorship
* Title sponsorship
* Perimeter advertising, A-board signage
* Post-match interviews background
Children’s exposure to betting advertisements?
The Industry Code of Advertising (Paragraph 33):
“The advertising of adult-only gambling products or product suppliers should never be targeted at children. This applies equally to sponsorship and this code requires that gambling operators will not allow their logos or other promotional material to appear on any commercial merchandising which is designed for use by children.
A clear example of this would be the use of logos on children’s sports shirts which in future would not be permitted under the terms of this code. (Gambling Commission)
How has the promotion of betting globally taken place?
Geo-targeted marketing- transnational nature of the market
Transnational betting markets
Chinese language in the EPL signboards (Bet 365 making profits in China)
Beteast – Swansea City’s 2016-17 Kit sponsor
Promotion of betting in Sub-Saharan Africa
* Youth engagement in sports betting
* EPL betting sponsors operating in
Africa (SportPesa, Betway, etc.) * Several factors
Market mechanisms of gambling normalisation?
- The Association with SPORT- the positive values of sport= sanitisation effect (Griffiths et al., 2018)
- Narratives in betting ads- SKILL enhancing narratives- if you work hard and train hard you can get better and win.
- Personal troubles/ socioeconomic deprivation- Socio-economic deprivation
* “In particular, for young men who find themselves deprived of viable routes to employment opportunities, gambling promises an alternative route to wealth, social capital and masculine affirmation, yet most end up ensnared in a cycle of indebtedness.” (McGee)
How does gambling affect the way sports are played?
Sports’ rules favourable for betting participants (Bernard, 2014)
Little space for sportspersonship? E.g., 1969
Ryder Cup
“There is no place for sporting gestures when there is money on it”
-Nic Coward, former CEO of the British Horseracing Authority
Sport journalists: from sport experts to betting experts (Lopez-Gonzalez et al., 2018)
Explain the on and off relationship between sports and gambling?
Goes through phases of ‘marriage’ and ‘divorce’ based on trade offs.
Popularity and money vs Social Legitimacy- a scale.
What were the key summary points from this lecture?
- Twin dynamics: opportunities & challenges (trade-offs)
- Three intersections of sport and gambling (betting, advertisement and used for funding/ development)
- Casino state and the legalisation of sports betting
- Issues around betting advertising: normalisation, global promotion, marketing narratives, sport’s legitimacy in society, etc.
- Various social processes: the global political economy, states’ policy and regulations, transnational betting markets, anti-gambling campaigners, etc.
