The American Gaming Association Thursday introduced fantasy sports and sports betting operator DraftKings, and Sightline Payments, a payments processing company, as partners in its Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly public service campaign.
DraftKings and Sightline Payments join organizations including the NHL, the PGA, the UFC and NASCAR as advocates for and promoters of responsible gaming.
“The goal when we started his campaign was to get everybody in the sports betting system rowing the boat in the same direction,” said AGA Senior Vice President, Strategic Communications, Casey Clark. “It’s really exciting to me as we’ve seen this thing pick up some momentum over the last year.”
Have a Game Plan specifically addresses responsible sports gambling. Its tenets include setting a budget, making sports wagering a form of entertainment, and using resources provided by sports operators to make smarter bets.
Clark notes it was only three years ago that sports betting was only legal in Nevada.
“Now more than 100 million adults have legal sports betting in their home state,” Clark said. “We have an obligation, those of us who are in the business – and not just the operators – to make sure people understand what this new category means, where they can bet safely and legally, and that they know the fundamentals of responsible gaming.”
DraftKings is the first operator to install the campaign at its retail sportsbooks in the U.S. The company will also introduce Have a Game Plan on its digital and social media channels. Sightline is the first payments company to partner with the AGA on the initiative and will display Have A Game Plan content to all new users and its 1.5 million cardholders nationwide.
Clark said that the gaming industry spends millions of dollars every year on responsible gaming initiatives, from employee training to treatment programs.
“What’s interesting is the evolution of a shared responsibility for responsible gaming, which is really where Have a Game Plan comes in,” he said. “We have a lot of new partners in the gaming business these days, and working with folks like DraftKings, the leagues, the teams, and companies like Sightline, who understand that they need to make this front and center with whatever they’re doing on sports betting, really helps that strike that narrative.”
