As reported by: Media Post
Who will win the coin toss or be first to challenge a referee call? Better yet, who will win the halftime pay-per-view Lingerie Bowl? No matter who is betting on what this Sunday, odds are that many Super Bowl-related wagers will be placed online. Prominent Web media outlets like MSNBC.com and Lycos could lead the way, despite a government crackdown on media companies that run ads for online gambling sites.

"The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events for total wagers and total volume," comments Michael Schroeter, brand manager of BetWWTS.com. Owned by The Betcorp Group of Companies, the site expects its total amount of wagers on the Super Bowl to exceed last year's take of $3 million. Schroeter is hoping that BetWWTS.com's branding efforts will help it "stick out from the pack." Various estimates show that there are as many as 2,000 Internet gambling sites currently operating.

The question is whether U.S.-based media companies will accept ads for Web sportsbooks like BetWWTS.com. They won't if the government has anything to do with it. Last September, the U.S. Justice Department issued a subpoena to the operator of a portal site to testify before a grand jury regarding Internet gambling ads (the portal company provided a copy of the document to Interactive Gaming News on the condition of anonymity). Media powerhouse Clear Channel Communications also received a subpoena. And earlier last summer, the National Association of Broadcasters received a letter from the Justice Department which warned, "Broadcasters and other media outlets should know of the illegality of offshore sportsbook and Internet gambling operations since, presumably, they would not run advertisements for illegal narcotics sales, prostitution, child pornography or other prohibited activities."

"It hasn't curbed our online ad spending," says BetWWTS.com's Schroeter, adding that non-U.S. sites are just a click away.

Regardless of legal threats, Web ads for online sportsbooks on U.S. sites aren't hard to come by. Web surfers who visit the Covers.com section of MSNBC.com's sports channel are greeted with a prominent banner ad for World Sports Exchange inviting them to "Rest Easy. You've found the finest, no nonsense wagering around." Banners and skyscraper ads for PartyPoker.com are also currently in rotation on the site.

According to Charles Tillinghast, VP-sales and business development for MSNBC.com, the World Sports Exchange ad appears on the site through a relationship with a consolidator, and the placement was not sold directly by MSNBC.com. Still, alluding to the site's policy that "sports betting ads are illegal," Tillinghast admits, "This was a breach of contract." MSNBC.com's legal counsel is taking steps to contact the consolidator regarding the situation.

Lesser known sites remain in the gambling ad game. Sports gaming resource VegasInsider.com runs ads for Canbet.com and Playersonly.com. Also, SportsFansWorldwide, the online home of Florida-based sports radio show, Morning Bullpen, hosts ads for online gambling sites Bestline Sports International and Skybook.

Sponsored search engine listings for online wagering sites may be even more prevalent. Keyword searches on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Lycos for "online gambling" and "Super Bowl betting" result in myriad paid links to Internet betting sites including GoldenPalace.com, Sportfanatik, and Bodog. About.com also lists sponsored links to online gambling sites.

"Our policy is not to accept gambling banners or pop-ups and pop-unders," assures Terra Lycos spokesperson Kathy O'Reilly. Although some listings that appear through the Lycos search engine feature sponsored links to gambling sites, O'Reilly says those search results are provided by Overture's Fast Search or Google, and are not under Lycos's control. The company won't accept online gambling ads for its own paid placement product.

MSN also partners with Overture for paid search listings. Karen Redetzki, MSN product manager, emphasizes that "MSN works diligently to ensure all advertising, both search and brand, are compliant with both MSN standards and current laws and regulations." Overture and Yahoo! declined to comment for this story.

Don Best Sports is taking the safe route. Last October, the subscription-based sports betting information service decided to stop selling print and Web ad space to online gambling sites, including BetWWTS.com. "It's a significant amount of lost revenue," says Dana Corbo, president and CEO.

The mixed reaction of media outlets indicates the murkiness of the issue from a legal standpoint. "People have wanted to fight it," suggests Corbo, who claims he's not interested in getting involved with any legal battles. "It's like fighting city hall."