How are social media influencers being leveraged to normalize sports gambling in mainstream culture?

How are Black people, both as bettors and athletes, positioned at the center of the growth of the sports betting industry?

• 58% have engaged in sports betting.

• 67% of on-campus students bet, often frequently.

• 41% of college bettors wager on their school's teams, and 35% use student bookmakers.

• 63% of on-campus students recall betting ads, with 58% more likely to bet after seeing them.

• 16% exhibit risky gambling behaviors, with 6% losing over $500 in a single day.

• 70% of these risky gamblers believe they will earn money through consistent betting.

Krauss, B. (2024, January). Sports Gambling Needs Reform. Slow Boring. https://www.slowboring.com/p/the-sports-gambling-industry-needs

NCAA.org. (2023, May 24). NCAA releases Sports Wagering Survey Data. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/5/24/media-center-ncaa-releases-sports-wagering-survey-data.aspx

NCAA.org. (2024, May 17). Sports betting culture negatively impacts mental health; NCAA works to support student-athletes. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/5/17/media-center-sports-betting-culture-negatively-impacts-mental-health-ncaa-works-to-support-student-athletes.aspx

Staff (2024, March 19). Ahead of march madness, blumenthal demands sports betting companies stop targeting problem gamblers: U.S. senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/ahead-of-march-madness-blumenthal-demands-sports-betting-companies-stop-targeting-problem-gamblers

Stokes, B. (n.d.). Sidelined: Ontario ban on athlete and celebrity Igaming endorsements takes effect. Blakes. https://www.blakes.com/insights/sidelined-ontario-ban-on-athlete-and-celebrity-igaming-endorsements-takes-effect/#:~:text=The%20Amended%20Standards%20prohibit%20the,)%20on%20August%2029%2C%202023.

Trumm, J. (2024, May 19). Does the sports betting industry target African-Americans?. The Blade. https://www.toledoblade.com/business/retail/2024/05/19/does-the-sports-betting-industry-target-african-americans/stories/20240516108

Wankel, B. (2024, February 2). Daily Fantasy vs. sports betting: Can they coexist in the future?. ajc. https://www.ajc.com/sports-betting/daily-fantasy-vs-sports-betting-can-they-coexist-in-the-future/NMVG3NGJJRETJCFTUD2ITFJMZU/

• One in 3 high-profile athletes receive abusive messages from someone with a betting interest. 

• Higher-profile events with sports betting markets attract increased volumes of abuse or threats.

• Ninety percent of harassment is generated online or through social media. 

• In sports with high volumes of betting, 15%-25% of all abuse surrounding that competition is betting related. 

• During March Madness, Signify covered nearly 1,000 Division I men's and women's basketball student-athletes, 64 teams, over 280 coaches and 120 NCAA match officials. 

• Across the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, over 54,000 posts/comments were flagged by Signify's AI for potential abuse or threats and reviewed by human in-house analysts. 

• Of those 54,000, 4,000 were confirmed as abusive or threatening and reported to the relevant social media platforms, with some elevated to law enforcement.

• More than 540 abusive betting-related messages were directed at men's and women's basketball student-athletes, including death threats. 

• Women's basketball student-athletes received approximately three times more threats than men's basketball student-athletes.

• Student-athletes are not the only group experiencing these threats and abuse. Game officials, administrators and other athletics employees have been harassed related to their respective involvement in competitions.”