US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is calling for US colleges to end their marketing relationships with sports betting operators like Caesars Entertainment. The Senator was moved to make the call after reading a recent New York Times article titled, “How College and Sports-Betting Companies ‘Caesarized’ Campus Life“, which exposes the deals made between big-time universities and operators to market sports betting to their student bodies.
Blumenthal responded to the article with an open letter to Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg shortly after the original article ran on November 21. In the letter, the Senator got right to the point saying, “Young people should not be targeted by sports wagering advertisements and Caesars’ deliberate marketing towards college-aged students cannot continue.”
“I call on you to end this disgraceful practice in order to protect students and prevent the irreparable harm that will be caused by Caesars’ marketing practices and college partnerships,” he continued.
Blumenthal also gave Caesars Entertainment a December 9 deadline (which has passed) to respond to his letter. If Reeg or anyone else at Caesars responded to Blumenthal, they did so in private.
While the Senator didn’t say what would happen if the company didn’t respond in a timely manner, there are plenty of reasons for Caesars to take Blumenthal seriously. As of this writing, Blumenthal sits on the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation – which could have some significant influence over the situation.
As of this writing, Blumenthal has not made any additional statements about his letter to Caesars and Caesars’ marketing operations on big-time college campuses like Louisiana State University and Michigan State continue unabated.