Wheelchair Bound Man Thrown Down Stairs Just Latest in Sick Sportsbook Social Media Trend
Plenty of casino execs will look at this and let out a collective “What the F***?” This one makes FanDuel’s battered woman social media campaign look sort of tame, scary to say.
Where do we start?
Because people confined to wheel chairs are helpless presumably, wouldn't it be fun to push some poor sap down a flight of stairs?
It's the latest in a series of bizarre - and quite frankly sick - social media postings that seem to have become a trend in the world of legal U.S. sports betting.
This time it's BetMGM taking the spotlight with a tweet featuring the caption "Nick Bosa to Tom Brady today", in an obvious reference to the Tampa Bay Bucs starting quarterback's disastrous performance versus the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. The accompanying video shows what appears to be a professional wrestler pushing a wheelchair bound man down a large flight of stairs. Presumably - we can only hope - this was staged. It's still cringeworthy to say the least.
Nick Bosa to Tom Brady todaypic.twitter.com/mIcdyFH3WA
— BetMGM (@BetMGM) December 11, 2022
The social media post comes as BetMGM's parent company is attempting to get licensed in the commonwealth of Massachusetts to offer mobile sports betting. Commissioners overseeing the process realized last week that BetMGM, not MGM Resorts International, will be running the mobile site. As a result, the approval is now delayed as the panel mulls over BetMGM's operating practices in other states. That is a terrifying prospect that should have MGM Resorts International excecutives sweating to be sure. The casino firm would otherwise have this one in the bag. After all, they currently operate a successful casino in Springfield.
The BetMGM tweet follows a series of tasteless social media entries by FanDuel, one featuring a badly battered female.
Competitor PointsBet decided to outdo everybody two weeks ago with a viral stunt that had former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees getting struck by lightning. It only took a few hours after friends, family and colleagues watched the video for the company to confirm it was "all just a stunt".
BetMGM is a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Entain. The later was handed down a record £17mn fine by UK regulators this past summer for failing to adhere to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) safeguards.
Entain CEO, Kenneth Alexander released a statement following the punitive measures: “Soon after the acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral following meetings and ongoing enquiries by the Gambling Commission, it became clear to GVC that there had been historic compliance failures within certain areas of the operations. Working closely with the Gambling Commission and an independent firm of solicitors, GVC facilitated a thorough, prompt and far-reaching investigation, which has led to today’s settlement. These historical failings were unacceptable and since the acquisition, I have overseen a systematic review of the enlarged Group’s player protection procedures and the individuals responsible for these problems have exited the business. I am confident that, we now have in place a robust and industry leading approach to player protection.
“More broadly, GVC is determined to take the lead in the critical area of responsible gambling, and is taking decisive, tangible action across a range of initiatives. This includes our recent voluntary commitment to increase funding for research, education and treatment projects ten-fold, as well as our decision to end all sponsorship deals that promote our brands on UK football shirts or on pitch-side advertising hoardings. However, there is more to be done and social responsibility and we will continue to work with other gambling companies and the Gambling Commission to raise operating standards.”
Somebody obviously didn't get the memo.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
