Sweeney’s sexist U.S. gambling-site ad isn’t the real problem

Until very recently, there was no reason to connect actress and model Sydney Sweeney with online sports betting. But the degrees separating these two culture trends evaporated in short order this week.

Sweeney, a pop culture icon who is a source of endless speculation in political circles, made a big splash with a provocative advertising campaign for Novig, a new-generation sports gambling site in the United States. In a promotional video, Sweeney appears largely nude, with strategically placed sports equipment and her long, blonde hair providing just enough cover to keep from being classified as pornography.

“Think you know sports?” Sweeney says seductively in the opening of the video, with two footballs hiding her breasts. “Prove it.”

Novig is a “peer-to-peer” gambling app that allows people south of the border to bet against each other on the outcomes of professional sports, as opposed to betting against “the house,” as is the case with traditional sports books. And it just so happens that Sweeney, either from a direct investment or as payment for her participation in the ad campaign, is now an equity partner in Novig.

Sexualized imagery in sports is certainly nothing new. However, perhaps because women have become finally and profoundly weary of the advertising strategy, or because Sweeney has already been involved in a divisive and controversial ad campaign for clothing retailer American Eagle (the so-called “Sydney Sweeney has good jeans” debacle), the Novig video has triggered a firestorm of criticism.

The protests are being led by elite female athletes who reacted with justifiable outrage at Sweeney’s uber-sexualized portrayal of female athletes. And rightly so; Sweeney is not an athlete, she is an actress and model pretending to be athletic. Bad idea, badly executed.

However, lost in some of the initial outrage is arguably the most alarming part of this ad campaign: a sports betting company resorting to soft-core pornography to market its app is a clear play to attract a younger male demographic that is already being ravaged by gambling addictions.

It has been hard to do research on the precise consequences of online sports gambling because those who are addicted to it are unlikely to tell anyone or seek help. Many mental-health experts believe it is more difficult for some people to admit to a gambling addiction than it would be for alcohol or drug dependence.

The reasoning behind this theory is that certain “behavioural addictions” — think smartphones, social media, unfettered shopping and online pornography — are harder for friends and family to spot because at least initially, they trigger few obvious symptoms and are, largely, tied to mundane activities in daily life.

Becoming addicted to something that other people can do without addiction triggers deeper levels of denial and refusal to seek treatment. At least until things get really, really bad.

Just how bad is only recently coming into focus.

Researchers from the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine released a study this week that tracked the number of problem gamblers who sought treatment at Ontario hospital emergency rooms. The study is timely, given that Ontario is currently overrun with online gambling.

As the study noted, Ontario has licensed 83 different online gambling sites and, in 2024 (the most recent year available), people in that province wagered nearly $83 billion through 2.6 million player accounts.

The researchers found that total ER visits by people suffering an injury or illness directly related to gambling disorders had doubled over a 14-year period ending in 2025. And most of that growth occurred since April 2022, when Ontario completely legalized online gambling.

Within that data is a worrisome trend about the increasing number of ER visits involving Sweeney’s specific target demographic: men and boys between the ages of 10 and 44. The study’s authors suggested this over-representation of younger men in the confirmed ER visits is further proof that younger men and boys represent the lion’s share of problem gamblers.

The important thing to keep in mind here is that these findings are only the tip of the iceberg, given that online gambling addicts are very likely to hide their afflictions from friends and family. A greater number of ER visits translates into an increase in the level of acuity among addicts.

When you look at the carnage these studies are only now revealing, it’s really a wonder that governments haven’t taken stronger steps to restrict the tidal wave of sports betting advertising and promotion that exists right now.

Sports books not only gobble up hours of prime real estate on sports channels, they are now official league sponsors and have drawn in some of the world’s greatest athletes as spokesmodels.

Several EU nations have banned various forms of sports gambling promotion. Teams in football’s English Premier League are no longer allowed to have betting sites as jersey sponsors. Australia has banned sports gambling ads during live sporting events.

But here in Canada, nothing.

Governments, including those in Ontario and Alberta, have bet heavily on online gambling to produce enormous revenue streams. Confronted now by proof that it is damaging an entire demographic, those same governments are willing to let their wagers ride.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca