30 September 2026
A hidden investigation by Popular Information has found that newspapers owned by Advance Publications, including long-time industry standards like the Oregonian and Plain Dealer, have published more than 17,000 online articles promoting sports betting, casinos, and prediction markets in the past four years.
The advertising campaign began in 2020. That year, Advance Local newspapers started posting content with affiliate links and promotional codes for online sports betting in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
In 2021, Advance Local papers expanded their gambling coverage to promote online casinos. Then, in 2022, those newspapers began publishing articles that featured promotional codes for prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
The articles include a disclosure stating, "If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation."
How This Business Model Operates
These gambling articles are seldom labeled as "sponsored content." Instead, the pages look like traditional sports reporting, routinely published by the newspapers' sports desks. The stories feature photos of the newspapers' reporters and editors and are sometimes posted in dedicated sections of the Advance Local websites.
Advance Local implicitly acknowledges that these articles are advertising by presenting them as reports from their "sports betting and iGaming reporters," not traditional journalists. The publisher's executive editor, Chris Quinn, told Popular Information that they now "employ a staff of experienced sports betting and iGaming reporters. Two dozen people are dedicated to producing this content."
The real customer though would be the gambling platforms featuring the links. In a March 2023 news release, Catena Media describes itself as an "affiliate marketing specialist," and states it has published content "in collaboration with media partners including Advance Local."
Catena Media says its business model is "to attract and deliver players to operators of online casino gaming and sports betting platforms." It says it is compensated through either a "flat referral fee" or a "percentage of how much the player loses" on the platform. It often gains visibility for those links by producing educational articles.
The Gambling Content Breakdown
This has meant a staggering quantity of sports betting content has been strategically placed on advance.com to improve search rankings, while promoting links to the betting platforms. For instance:
* 5,629 articles on DraftKings
* 5,406 articles on FanDuel
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* 4,588 articles on BetMGM
* 726 articles on PointsBet
* 483 articles on Caesars Sportsbook
* 470 articles on BetRivers
* 667 articles on Kalshi
* 662 articles on Polymarket
Credibility Concerns and Ethical Questions
Danny Funt, writing for Columbia Journalism Review, argues that these deals seek to profit from articles promoting an industry where the house almost always wins: "When you combine a business known for exploiting customers with reputable journalism, both suffer. Even if the newsrooms profit financially, that success comes at the cost of their integrity."
Examining Kalshi and Polymarket's operations, Funt suggests there may be growing tension between gambling revenues and journalistic independence. Will reporters face pressure to favorably cover gambling services? Could these partnerships influence how newsrooms report on regulatory proceedings involving these companies? These arrangements create potential conflicts of interest for publications that must objectively cover the gambling industry.
Many other publishers are entering this space. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that major media companies including CNBC, CNN, and Fox News have recently partnered with prediction-market platforms. By referencing these markets in their coverage, the publishers appear positioned to drive traffic to the platforms.