- A new analysis has revealed just how much sports betting imagery is being broadcast during America’s sporting events.
BRISTOL, Conn. – During this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, hockey fans saw gambling logos and messages an average of 3.5 times per minute, based on research data recorded at the University of Bristol.
With one game peaking at nearly five ads every 60 seconds, the entire NBA finals averaged just 0.26 gambling references per minute by comparison.
The researchers logged 6,282 gambling-related marketing instances across the six NHL and seven NBA finals games, with 94% of them coming from hockey coverage. These included jersey patches, rinkside and courtside signage, in-game mentions, and TV commercials.
The findings highlight how leagues are managing relationships with legal sports betting and gambling in general.
University of South Carolina sports management professor Stephen Shapiro said to the Guardian, “Most sports organizations wanted nothing to do with gambling before 2018. Now you see partnerships with leagues, teams, and even athletes. It’s become mainstream.”
For legal online sportsbooks, the strategy is obvious: in-game placements guarantee attention. As the University of Alabama’s Andrew Billings put it, sports are one of the last live-viewing events where “you can count on most of the audience seeing the advertisement.”
Too Much Attention?
Still, the sheer volume of ads during NHL games has fueled debate over regulation.
Earlier this year, Representative Paul Tonko introduced the Safe Bet Act, which would set national standards on gambling advertising, while a New Jersey poll stated 76% of voters wanted to see ad limits.
Read More: NJ Voters Push Gambling Ad Limits as Australia Cuts Back
The gambling industry, however, insists its presence is overblown. The American Gaming Association notes that sports betting made up just 0.4% of all US television advertising in 2024, far less than alcohol or pharmaceuticals.
What is clear from the data is that fans of different sports are experiencing two very different realities: NBA viewers get only occasional reminders that gambling is part of the modern sports landscape. Meanwhile, hockey broadcasts are drenched in logos and sports betting promotions that repeat nearly every few seconds.
With nearly 20 million US adults reporting frequent problem gambling behaviors in the past year, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, the question now is whether regulators will put the research and poll data into action.
