The Gamble of Sports Betting
Beka Ruehle ‘30
Image Source: Novig
Many have seen or heard about the recent Sydney Sweeney advertisement for the online sports betting company Novig, which features Sweeney naked – covered only by sports equipment – repeating the phrase “just sports.” MSN News states that the advertisement has received massive backlash, which the news outlet purports may have been intentional, stating, “some see this as a deliberate campaign of controversy generation by the company itself.” Whatever the advertisement’s intended purpose, it has clearly generated buzz for the company – MSN identifies that “Novig has climbed to number 11 on the App Store sports app rankings from the #50 spot back in August.”
This commercial is part of a growing trend of advertisements for sports betting. Although the American Gaming Association stated in 2025 that the number of TV advertisements for sports betting had decreased by 27% since its peak in 2021, advertisements in other areas are becoming more common. In May 2026, the Washington Post published an article detailing the results of a study in which they analyzed 50 hours' worth of “televised football, basketball, and hockey games” at both the collegiate and professional level. They found that every single event had at least one reference to betting, and there was an average of 1 reference made every 4 minutes. These advertisements were most prominent in hockey and women’s basketball and included not only commercials, but also the names and logos of sportsbooks plastered throughout arenas.
The most troubling part of the Sweeney advertisement in particular is the fact that it appears to blatantly target young men, who, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), are one of the most vulnerable populations when it comes to online sports betting. According to a 2023 survey released by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA), in a sample of 3,527, nearly 60% of Americans aged 18-22 bet on sports, and four percent do so daily. An article published in Time Magazine in Dec. 2023 outlined the risk factors young people experience that may lead them to a gambling addiction, including their exposure to widespread advertising for sports betting platforms.
In 2024, Shane Kraus, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada, discovered a connection between sports betting and elevated levels of problem gambling in comparison to those who do not bet on sports. He also found that sports bettors have a higher engagement with substances than non-sports bettors. The Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy explains that online sports betting can be more problematic than in-person due to “a combination of high accessibility and large economic costs.” Furthermore, an article from UC San Diego Rady School of Management identified that 96% of 700,000 gamblers in a study lost money to online gambling overall, and stated that low-income gamblers are “most likely to increase irresponsible gambling after state policy changes” regarding the legalization of online gambling.
Sports betting also creates issues for college athletes. According to a 2024 article from the NCAA, "Harassment related to sports betting can cause serious harm to student-athlete mental health and well-being.” Although betting on collegiate events is illegal in New York – limiting the risk to college athletes – it still does not protect college students at large from the aforementioned dangers of sports betting.
While sports betting causes many issues, it has also boosted states' economies since the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. It ruled that sports betting falls under the umbrella of states’ rights and thus would no longer be federally regulated. Since then, proponents of the legalization of sports betting have touted its ability to limit illegal gambling practices and generate economic growth for the state, emphasizing the relative safety of state-sponsored sportsbooks that have bet limits and help lines in comparison to the illegal market. According to a 2024 article by Princeton Public Affairs Group lobbyist William J. Pascrell III, the revenue New York receives from sportsbooks “funds sports programs for underserved youths, problem gambling education and treatment, and education aid.”
Overall, bettors are almost guaranteed to lose money on gambling, and young people who engage in sports betting are more likely to develop problem gambling behaviors. However, proponents of sports betting highlight the economic benefits the state gains from the legalization of sports betting. The most important aspect of sports betting is to ensure that people who choose to participate are aware of the potential risks of gambling addiction and understand the resources available to them if their betting becomes a problem.
One resource available to everyone is the National Problem Gambling Hotline (1-800-My Reset), which is a non-emergency service that “offers call, text, and chat services 24/7/365.”
