NCL Petitions FTC For Sports Betting, Prediction Market Notification Controls
Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829
Washington, DC – The National Consumers League, alongside the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, the National Council on Problem Gambling, the Public Health Advocacy Institute, and Truth in Advertising, Inc. (TINA.org), today filed a petition calling on the Federal Trade Commission to require wagering apps to provide consumers better control over the notifications they receive.
Specifically, the organizations urged the FTC to require sports betting and prediction market companies to obtain permission before sending intrusive, pop-up advertisements as push notifications to consumers’ phones. Additionally, the organizations advocated for the FTC to allow consumers to opt out of receiving marketing notifications while still receiving other non-advertising notifications, like those related to account security.
“We deserve meaningful control over what we see on our phones,” said NCL Senior Public Policy Manager Eden Iscil. “By making it harder to avoid ads sent by their apps, gambling companies are increasing the odds that users become addicted. And for online gambling, the associated harms for participants are well documented.”
Federal law requires minimum consumer protections for marketing sent via email and text message, like the ability for recipients to opt out and for companies to obtain consent before sending advertisements. However, no such requirements explicitly exist for push notifications. NCL’s request would apply the same safeguards that exist for advertisements sent over email and text message to advertisements for sports betting and prediction markets delivered via app push notifications.
A 2025 report by NCL found that, in the aggregate, 93% of notifications sent by the three largest sports betting apps contained advertising material. For apps that do not provide the controls NCL advocates for, users must disable all notifications entirely for the app via their phone’s settings. Doing so also blocks important messages a user would otherwise want to receive, like alerts related to account security.
NCL, CFG, NCPG, PHAI, and TINA.org’s full petition to the FTC can be found here.
Additional reading:
- NCL Report Finds Largest Sports Betting Apps Overwhelmingly Use Push Notifications to Advertise
- NCL, 14 Other Orgs Oppose X/Twitter Attempt to Escape Privacy Requirements
- Consumers Last: SCOTUS Erodes Independence of Consumer Protection Agencies
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
