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A group of faculty members at Michigan State University is currently circulating a petition to terminate the partnership between the university and Caesars Sportsbook.
Following the American Gaming Association’s recent update of its guidelines to prohibit future collaborations between sportsbooks and colleges, an online petition was launched on Tuesday. Within the initial two days, the petition garnered almost 300 signatures.
Matthew Larson, Associate Athletic Director/Communications at MSU, stated that the individuals responsible for managing the agreement are currently examining the latest AGA guidelines and assessing their relevance to the partnership.
Larson informed Playinmichigan that MSU acknowledges the AGA code updates. Although the university and its athletics department are not directly involved in the contract with Caesars, they are aware that the parties involved in the agreement are examining the new guidelines to assess any potential effects on the current arrangement.
Petition: MSU, Caesars partnership contradicts university’s pledge
John Kerr, a community sustainability professor at MSU, is spearheading the petition. The language of the petition highlights the university’s commitment to student welfare, particularly their mental health, and argues that this agreement contradicts that commitment.
The petition argues that Caesars and other major online gambling companies adopt tactics similar to drug pushers to attract customers, offering large amounts of free bets. It points out that young men, who often have a good understanding of sports, are particularly vulnerable to being enticed into thinking they can be successful gamblers. The petition also highlights that even the American Gaming Association discourages gambling advertising on university campuses, but MSU has chosen to embrace it. Although the exact number of MSU students involved in online gambling is unknown, considering the large student population, it is presumed to be substantial. The petition stresses that even one problem gambler is too many, but it is highly likely that hundreds of them are being created.
According to Kerr’s statement to Legal Sports Report, the faculty group has been informed by university officials that acting interim president Teresa Woodruff is currently investigating the possibility of terminating the partnership.
Although specific information about the agreement has not been disclosed, the New York Times obtained emails suggesting that the deal is valued at $8.4 million over a span of five years.
MSU, Caesars partnership one of many under scrutiny
The collaboration between MSU and Caesars is relatively new, having begun approximately 15 months ago. The announcement took place on Jan. 13, 2022, which fell just short of the one-year mark since the initiation of Michigan’s online sports betting. Although not the inaugural partnership of its kind, it was among a few others during that period.
However, the discussion regarding those deals has shifted since then.
The partnership between Colorado and PointsBet has recently been terminated. Although the split was announced around the same time as the AGA guidelines change, it was not stated as the cause for their separation.
A year ago, LSU’s partnership with Caesars faced criticism due to the distribution of marketing emails to students who were under 21, which is the legal gambling age in Louisiana.
Michigan State has made efforts to avoid that from happening.
Larson clarified, “Since the beginning, we have consistently excluded MSU student emails, as well as emails for Jr. Spartan members and individuals below 21 years of age on our system, from receiving promotional emails for Caesars Sportsbook. This is not a recent alteration but a long-standing practice.”
The AGA is not the only national organization closely examining such deals. The National Council on Problem Gambling has published a report containing recommended guidelines for these agreements. These guidelines discourage offering incentives to schools based on involvement in sports betting and encourage the provision of on-campus problem gambling treatment, among other measures.
