United States Sports Betting Ad Spend Takes a Dive in 2023

A recent study by Nielsen, initiated by the American Gaming Association (AGA), has revealed quite a substantial decline in sports betting advertising spending in 2023. The research tracked ad expenditures across multiple platforms, including TV, digital, print, out-of-home, and cinema. It was noted that overall ad spending in sports betting fell by 15% from the previous year. When daily fantasy sports (DFS) is excluded, the decrease in sports betting advertising was even more pronounced at 21%.

Specifically, sports betting advertisements on TV saw an 11% drop since 2022 and a 33% decline since 2021. This reduction reflects a broader trend of diminishing sports betting ads on television, where the industry’s share of TV advertising slipped to just 0.4% in 2023, down from 0.7% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2022.

The decline in sports betting ads can be attributed to the maturation of markets. As sports betting has been legalized in more states, initial advertising blitzes have given way to more stabilized marketing efforts as the markets develop. “As sports betting has expanded into new states, legal operators often launch advertising campaigns to raise awareness of legal sportsbooks and capture market share. Over time, those markets mature and the level of advertising declines. Last year, there were fewer television ads for sports betting than for other familiar products marketed to adults,” explained the study.

In comparison to other industries, sports betting’s ad share is relatively low. For instance, in 2023, other industries like alcohol (0.5%), telecom/wireless (1.5%), fast food (3.8%), and pharmaceuticals (14.1%) held higher proportions of TV ad volumes.