Louisiana State University and Caesars Entertainment entered a deal in 2021 to advertise sports betting on the campus in Baton Rouge, La. It’s now over, earlier than expected.
Allison Allsop of LSU Manship News Service broke the story this week in a piece carried by WWL-TV. She reported that the “controversial, seven-figure agreement,” is now history, according to officials at the school and a sports marketing company.
Lauren Capone of Playfly Sports, a marketing company that helped arrange the deal, said it was supposed to last “several more years,” per the report.
Through the deal, Caesars received the rights to place signs throughout Tiger Stadium and to place its name on a new club seating arrangement in the south end zone called the Caesars Sportsbook Skyline Club, said the report. That “club” included seats for up to 1,500 fans, an all-you-can eat buffet, plus the option to purchase beer and wine. Signs in venues, ads on the LSU mobile sports app and more were included.
Many students who would have seen this advertising were not old enough to legally gamble in Louisiana.
“These actions have brought criticism from students and professors,” said Allsop. “The opponents were concerned about high rates of addiction, underage gambling and students wasting money needed to pay off college.”
“Still sickened by how quickly the people who run LSU were to embrace sports betting, heedless of the potential damage to students and athletes,” said Robert Mann, a professor of mass communications at LSU in a tweet.
This week, legislation proposed by state Sen. Gary L. Smith (D-19) that prohibits “postsecondary education institutions from entering into promotional agreements with gaming entities,” passed and was sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards. Capone said discussion regarding ending the deal began when the bill was proposed in March.
Earlier this month, Smith said the school would end its arrangement with Caesars. Cody Worsham, LSU Athletics’ chief brand officer, confirmed it Thursday.
“Another factor was that the American Gaming Association, an industry group, updated its responsible marketing code in March to prohibit gaming companies from having partnerships with universities to promote sports betting,” wrote Allsop. She said other colleges – including Michigan State and the University of Maryland – have also ended deals with gaming companies.
As of June 2, all of the Caesars signs should have been removed from the campus, according to Capone.
Mann said in an interview Friday that he was glad to see the deal ending.
“I mean, I think they’re being forced to do the right thing,” said Mann in an interview this week, referring to LSU Athletics. “Not of their own accord but because of external circumstances and people who exercise better judgment than they did.”
According to the National Council on Problem Gaming, 2 million U.S. adults meet the criteria for severe gambling problems in a given year and 4-6 million are considered to have mild or moderate gambling problems.
“Research also indicates that most adults who choose to gamble are able to do it responsibly,” said the council.
