Charitable Sports Betting: Leveraging Wagering for Good Causes

When we talk about the sports betting industry, we often discuss the revenues this sector generates. At least, that is how we chiefly start articles that seek to emphasize its growth, in which we always like to point out that this sphere has now expanded into a multi-billion-dollar market, citing this as evidence of its dramatic upward trajectory.

It goes without saying that we primarily view this landscape and the pastime of wagering on sports itself through a profit lens. Naturally, the prime motivation for people to get immersed in this hobby is, without question, the desire to make money through it. It gets promoted as a simple and fun way to turn a buck.

That said, gambling does not always have to be motivated by monetary gain, and it can be used as a tool for social good in various ways. That is how lotteries got started, how bingo and keno still get put to use in various US states, and why raffle draws get organized by churches and veterans’ associations.

This piece of content dives into how sports betting as a whole gets channeled toward impactful causes and the betterment of communities, or assisting distinct groups of people facing distinct social and life challenges.

Purpose-Driven Betting & Operator Initiatives

In recent years, purpose-driven consumerism has influenced various industries, quite substantially so. Sports betting has not escaped this trend. Those unaware of the term purpose-driven consumers, should know that these are individuals who direct their spending to companies they think have a positive environmental impact, treat their employees right, play fair, and so on. In other words, consumers that prioritize socially responsibility corporations. Gambling operators are well aware of this trend and have been, for a while, aligning themselves with charitable causes to attract socially conscious customers.

The Entain Foundation is a prominent example of this. What is the Etain Foundation? It is an organization founded by UK gambling giant Entain in 2019, a famed entity that owns several high-end UK-centric and global gambling brands like PartyPoker, Coral, Ladbrokes, and Bwin. The foundation is an organization essentially created to gain public support for this betting and gaming juggernaut. It does this mainly by aiding grassroots sports development. Plus, helping community health programs grow, and creating various educational initiatives that promote safer wagering. In the latter field, it has poured over £18 million since its inception five years ago.

Similarly, in Nigeria, Bet9ja, one of the country’s most established brands, sponsors community events such as the Lagos Women’s Run, which raises awareness for women’s health. And, Betway has partnered with organizations like Special Olympics. These initiatives by operators embed philanthropy into how they do business. But for many, they are not aimed at producing a community positive. For these critics, they are nothing more than publicity stunts. This is a sly way for these businesses to cozy up to their consumer base, fostering some degree of positive societal impact, creating this to gain customer loyalty.

How Operators Are Giving Back

Expanding on the last part of the previous subheading, besides operators dedicating a portion of their profits to charitable causes, they also run wager-matching campaigns to raise funds for NGOs. What are these? They are an approach of matching customer wagers during dedicated campaigns, doubling funds by persons collected for altruistic causes.

GoodBookey was a betting app that exploited a similar concept for the greater good. It combines friendly wagering and charitable giving. Released in 2016, this was mobile software that allowed users to bet on NFL, NCAA games, and NBA ones with friends, but instead of cash prizes, the loser got forced to donate their bet to a charity selected by the winner. It worked with charities like Feeding America and United Way and had to overcome significant legal challenges to become publicly available. It became inactive in 2023, to our knowledge, but when it was enjoying success, its prosperity had largely depended on partnerships with larger sports organizations.

Charity tournaments are probably the biggest staple in this sphere, with events like Bet for Good gaining many headlines for letting participants wager in support of various causes. Donor pools are another established charitable avenue. In these contests, bettors voluntarily donate portions of their winnings/stakes to support local charities, throwing them in a pool that gets given away at the end of a designated period. These mechanisms not only generate financial resources for non-profits but also let bettors engage with sports events in meaningful ways, and not only to make money via them.

Benefits for the Betting Industry

As noted above, betting tied into charities looks to enhance brand loyalty for the most part, as it demonstrates a commitment to philanthropy, seeking to retain ethically minded customers. It also helps operators get rehabbed in the public eye, where they face criticism for promoting gambling addiction. By supporting social initiatives, these companies, to some level, can mitigate this stigma.

In recent times, due to rising problem gambling rates, governments and regulatory bodies in some countries have mandated operators to promote responsible gambling and organize responsible gambling campaigns that inform potential gamblers of the dangers this pastime can bring. The economic, social, and health ones. Following through with this demonstrates social responsibility. Nevertheless, many argue that these companies’ use of charity initiatives is not genuine altruism. They believe it is nothing more than a marketing tool, adding that such low-level philanthropy cannot suppress the moral debates surrounding gambling’s potential to harm people.

Examples of Famous Charitable Betting Events

In an attempt to merge doing good with the excitement of wagering, many organizations run charitable betting events. One that has gotten significant publicity is Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the NABC, OR National Association of Basketball Coaches, and the American Cancer Society, which has used charity brackets during NCAA tournaments to raise funds. Gamers for Giving, hosted yearly by the Gamers Outreach Foundation, is another standout example, as it includes fundraising competitions and charity betting opportunities.

But as far as bookmaker-ran events go, the BCG Britannia Stakes, a heritage handicap run at Royal Ascot, is the most impressive one, at least in Europe, that we know of. Over five years, it has raised close to £3 million for organizations like Prostate Cancer UK, Missing People, and racing-focused charities such as HEROS and GoRacingGreen. Participating bookmakers like Flutter, Ladbrokes, and William Hill give their profits from the race, and they even guarantee a minimum donation of £200,000 if none get pulled from it (they don’t make money), illustrating the potential power and intersection of sports betting and philanthropy.

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