The Responsible Online Gaming Association has adopted a voluntary Marketing and Advertising Code that sets common standards for eight major U.S. online gambling operators. The code covers real-money online sports betting and iGaming promotions, and the members named as adopters include bet365, BetMGM, Bally’s, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and Penn Entertainment.
The code takes effect within three months of publication. It applies not only to member companies but also to third parties that market their services, including affiliates, agencies, influencers and brand ambassadors, and it is limited to online gaming platforms and real-money services.
According to ROGA, the standards will also feed into a forthcoming independent certification program developed with the Responsible Gambling Council. Dr. Jennifer Shatley said responsible marketing practices must evolve as technology and digital platforms change, and the association said compliance will be monitored as part of certification.
Marketing must reach audiences expected to be at least 75% of legal gambling age, and operators must use demographic data before buying ads and age-targeting tools across digital platforms.
The code also bars cartoon characters, youth-focused imagery and personalities primarily popular with minors. People shown in marketing must be at least 21 and not reasonably appear younger, while ads on college campuses and targeting college students are prohibited, as are partnerships with amateur collegiate athletes, except for responsible-gambling education, awareness campaigns, charitable work and alumni associations.
Marketing may not present gambling as a financial strategy or an easy way to win, and it must not make risk-free claims, encourage loss-chasing or omit material terms; operators must also describe odds and likely outcomes accurately.
Consumers must be given a clear way to opt out of future marketing. The code also requires responsible-gambling information and links to support resources on operators’ websites and apps, and customers must be able to restrict access to gambling, VIP benefits, promotions, payment options and direct marketing.
Members are barred from increasing marketing to customers identified through their own responsible-gambling procedures, including AI-assisted communications. Substantiated non-compliant material must be withdrawn as soon as reasonably practicable, and repeated failures can lead to suspension or revocation of certification.
ROGA said its membership represents about 90% of legal U.S. sports betting handle. The release came as gambling marketing has become a routine feature of U.S. sport, with a University of Bristol review recording 6,282 gambling marketing messages across the 2025 NBA and NHL Finals, a February Sacred Heart University poll finding 62% of respondents worried about advertising’s effect on young people and 46% concerned about promotion volumes during major sporting events.
