There's been a wide spread huge marketing effort to pivot away from gambling as a vice to entertainment. For most adults this might be a manageable reality but for others it is a death sentence which has catastrophic effects on a person's well-being, health, relationships, and financial security.
It's also big business. For governments it creates a new revenue stream moving money out of black markets or in operating their own gaming operations. Sports teams and pro athletes it delivers a huge revenue stream through marketing dollars with sponsorships, celebrity endorsements, and I read a EU study that reinforced it increases audience eyeballs with the diverse lines of in-game betting options made. There is compelling business alignment and profitability for pro sports teams and gambling to 'do business'.
The Oilers jersey patch is their choice and as a profit centred big big business this sports big business operation is overturning every stone to maximize their profits. Within their right including the relocation threat once levelled. Unfortunate reality is the gambling advertising unlike other vice products or services is not regulated to be seen or exposed only to adult audiences. The jersey patch and McDavid/Gretzky' gambling celebrity endorsements are mass marketing campaigns that include impressionable children and teens.
Now some studies suggest the largest at-risk audience for problem gambling is males age 18-34 which not coincidentally is a prime target audience for sports entertainment (
Harm from problem gambling in Great Britain ‘may be eight times higher than thought’). An example of the consequences of sports gambling:
How prepared is Europe for an increase in gambling and addiction?
The Oilers are a highly visible, uniquely positioned big business that has significant and deeply unbridled brand loyalty that cuts across all ages, demographics, education, and income strata. They've leveraged this powerful customer loyalty to build a highly public subsidized hockey rink and set their ticket pricing and ancillary services under monopolistic conditions among the highest in their league. It's a brand that matters in Edmonton and their relationships are observed and to some extent consumed by most of the population.
Regarding the jersey patch, I get it from the business side. But I do think they could have chosen a different brand partner that reflects better on their visible status and influence in their city and beyond. For one instance, the milquetoast Leafs have something with "Got Milk."