NCAA Bans Ads For Fantasy Leagues In March Madness, TV College Sports

by Wayne Friedman , October 22, 2015

Don’t expect to see daily fantasy sports leagues posting wall-to-wall advertising in next year’s NCAA March Madness event.

The NCAA has banned all sponsorship/advertising activity in televised college sports championships for DraftKings and FanDuel -- which have exploded this NFL season with seemingly wall-to-wall advertising on TV networks.

Next March’s big NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament airs on CBS and Turner Broadcasting cable networks.

In writing a letter to DraftKings and FanDuel, NCAA said: “As we have communicated to you previously, since your games meet the definition of sports wagering within our bylaws, the N.C.A.A. will not allow advertising of your products in connection with N.C.A.A. championships, including television broadcasts.”

NCAA also added that those sites would be prohibited from such advertising activity because they are “inconsistent with our values, bylaws, rules and interpretations regarding sports wagering” and could violate “various state laws.”

The letter also asked DraftKings and FanDuel to stop offering fantasy contests based on college sports.

But it has left undecided what the new college football playoff -- which is not overseen by the NCAA -- will do later this year, according to The New York Times. On ESPN, it's a 12-year deal worth $7.3 billion.

advertising, basketball, broadcasting, gaming, regulation, sponsorship, sports

3 comments about "NCAA Bans Ads For Fantasy Leagues In March Madness, TV College Sports".

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Rick Thomas from MediaRich Marketing, October 22, 2015 at 5:44 p.m.
What took them, the NCAA, so long? Or surely both DraftKings and FanDuel expected this.
Reply

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, October 23, 2015 at 9:55 a.m.

Asides from DraftKings, FanDuel and other not so famous houses of ill repute being gambling dens, the companies control the algorithms, the payouts, the winners. Players think it is a game of chance and strategy. Not an peck of truthiness.

David Mountain from Marketing and Advertising Direction, October 23, 2015 at 10:14 a.m.

You've got to be remarkably filthy for even the NCAA to turn up its nose at you.