Online sports betting operators form organization to promote responsible gambling

Seven of the largest U.S. sportsbooks, including FanDuel and DraftKings, are launching a trade group to promote responsible gambling. Members of the Responsible Online Gaming Association will share best practices and the names of customers who’ve been banned from their platforms for problematic betting. 

All this comes as Major League Baseball and the NBA each investigate high-profile betting scandals involving athletes. 

Americans legally wagered nearly $120 billion on sports in 2023, according to the American Gaming Association. That’s up 28% from the year before. 

The rise of sports betting is also driving fan engagement, per Kenneth Shropshire, who studies the business of sports at Wharton. 

“People are watching games to the finish to make sure they win their money or to see their money fly away,” he said.

But Shropshire said that leagues and sportsbooks have to manage perceptions around irresponsible gambling and addiction, as well as athlete betting scandals that can cheapen sports. 

“Here we have the enterprises themselves coming together and saying, ‘How can we provide consumer confidence?'” Shropshire said.

The companies participating in this trade alliance are walking a tricky line, according to Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross. 

“Let’s be serious — they’re trying to get as much revenue as possible, and the way you do that is by getting people to gamble a lot,” he said.

The sportsbooks could be making internal rules to head off stricter regulations from state governments, he noted.