The Spell Cast By Sportsbooks Commercials & Celebrity Bettors

The Sportsbook <> Celebrity Marriage

As sports betting legalization rolls out across the United States, sportsbooks commercials are ramping up unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

You almost can’t turn on the tv these days without being inundated by one of them.

Either with Jamie Fox with his BetMGM app on a movie set, Gronk kicking field goals for FanDuel, or Patrick Adams going into ‘Mike Ross mode’ crunching odds on theScore Bet.

And the list goes on and on…

There’s no doubt the books are doing everything in their power to leverage the influence of famous athletes and celebrities to draw in new and existing sports bettors to their apps.

As Shane Mercer, Behind The Lines Podcast Host says on Episode 1 , “It’s almost like a competition to see who can get the biggest name athlete to endorse their sportsbook.”

An all-out war for user growth is on as they fight for your action, so it’s no surprise they’re spending billions to get your attention.

While these commercials are fun, humorous, have a ‘feel-good’ energy, and feature someone who you’re likely a fan of — it’s important to be viewing them in the right lense and have the correct mindset so you can make the most informed decisions possible.

An Arena Designed For You To Lose

First and foremost, it’s important to always understand you’re playing in an industry that is trying to take your current and future money.

So, you need to be very careful about your actions after being exposed to these commercials.

The endorsements from celebrities or athletes can create a false sense of security for those who are unfamiliar with the process of placing bets and can be highly deceptive in terms of the potential risks involved with sports betting.

Ads like FanDuels responsible gaming theme try to preach how they are looking out for your best interests, but in reality it’s mostly fluff and virtue signalling to make them look good (& actually make life difficult for winning bettors).

As well as ads like Aaron Paul’s Bet365 commercial in which he claims in his hand “is everything I will ever need to bet in play.”

Only this is false advertising because if you start winning, you will be limited or restricted (Bet365 is one of the worst for this).

Paul also fails to mention many other things like receiving proper education, tracking your data, bankroll management, unit calculations, and a huge list of other factors that go into the process.

We cover this in detail with our responsible wagering article, and it’s important to educate yourself while having access to real responsible gaming tools that serve you and not the books.

Normalizing Real Life & Conditioning

Next, it’s important to understand what’s going on in the actual ads themselves.

These commercials aim to demystify the entire the process of placing bets — showing just how easy, convenient and entertaining it can be.

And let’s be honest — ads are hilarious and sports betting can be incredibly fun if done responsibly.

But where the line can get crossed is when sports betting gets compared to everyday life.

Many of the betting ads we are now seeing are mimicking real life situations to normalize the act of gambling within society.

Look no further than this commercial which takes place at the dinner table.

It goes on to say “Ah the holidays…. if only FanDuel could set the odds…odds on when the annual family debate will happen… and if grandpa is in a food coma or real coma… everything in life is a bet.”

Or the commercial where Jamie Fox is checking his phone mid film session on set, and another with Barry Sanders taking a betting phone call during a pickleball game, after hiding the information when asked what the call was about.

Normalizing gambling as if it’s just another everyday activity and that it’s ok to be doing during work, weddings, or family gatherings (and to conceal it from others), is possibly a very dangerous road to go down.

Knowledge is power, so it’s critical to be smart about what you’re consuming and avoid the potential conditioning pitfalls that may hit you over the long term.

Social Influencers & Sponsored Bettors

There is additional ammo the sportsbooks use and that is collaborating with social media influencers who target you on your social feeds as well.

They might do a series of sponsored posts or videos on social media platforms that showcase how they are using the betting platforms.

The biggest influencer, who just so happens to be one of the worlds biggest celebs, is Drake.

Drake is all over the betting world.

He is constantly posting his betting tickets on his social media, and they all seem to be placed on the same betting platform — Stake.com.

Coincidence?

He’s even tagging Stake in all the posts…

As inplayLIVE CEO, Andrew Pace, explains on Behind The Lines Episode 5, “Celebrities who are betting, little do we know they are affiliates… there is a question of whether or not they’re actually placing the bets themselves, or if its the sportsbooks money being provided to them to place the bets… and then there’s the reality of the fact that it’s this inadvertent marketing being put in front of us.”

The partnership between them was confirmed by Prince Grimes at USA Today, and the Drake Vs Stake promo has recently been born — where Drake gives away a million dollars in tips on the site during a roulette live stream.

So, it’s always important to understand what’s happening behind the scenes here and to be mindful of this when you make your betting decisions.

Another great example is the photo at the top of this article, where you see Drake in the high stakes room at the Aria in Vegas.

“To the untrained eye, you look and say Drake plays for big money… but they are advertising the Aria here. It’s a staged photo. For anyone who’s played in any casino in Vegas, you are never under any circumstance allowed to take a picture of the action at the table. They will kick you out. So there’s a very real chance that the Aria has paid for this shot and potentially paid for a portion or all of the chips on the table. That’s when you can start to question if this wager actually ever was even made. And that’s the kind of thinking that I think is very important for people to have with respect to this industry,” explains Pace on the podcast.

At the end of the day, the ROI is there for the sportsbooks and is a very effective way to turn their influencers’ millions of followers into potential customers.

Another one to look at is Dave Portnoy.

Shane Mercer breaks down this other type of celebrity bettor on Behind The Lines Episode 5.

”He has a sportsbook — Barstool Sportsbook — and he’s making his own bets and telling everyone what he’s betting and to go make these wagers on my sportsbook. The untrained bettor might be jumping on it and caught up in the hype of a barstool show making picks and parlays… and I don’t know that bettors are necessarily making that connection that the guy that owns the sportsbook is telling me to bet this and will make a profit off me if it loses and maybe he’s not placing a wager at all to begin with.”

This leave us with Mattress Mack. What’s his deal?

“Foundationally speaking, he runs a furniture shop. And kudos to this guy for being relevant with a mom and pop by using betting as a promotion to leverage his business. Now I promise you, that if I have been reached out to by dozens of sportsbooks, that he definitely has some significant affiliate associations or at least the books have attempted in spades,” Pace also breaks down in the Episode 5.

Again, knowledge is power. Simply being aware of this — who’s giving you the advice and understanding what their motivations are, will sharpen your mind when making betting decisions.

Unexpected Players and Affect On Kids

There are also some endorsements from sportsbooks that have definitely rubbed people the wrong way.

Wayne Gretzky can now be seen all over BetMGM’s ad which has him on his phone betting while watching Connor McDavid at a hockey practice session.

Some feel it’s a little unexpected to see a guy who used to shoot commercials which brought smiles to kids faces with Tim Hortons donuts, now promoting a sports gambling casino.

Is this the best example being set for kids? The opinions are definitely divided.

“A lot of people are really disappointed,” says Pace on Behind The Lines. “People feel like their kids favorite athletes have sold out. But the flip side is everyone wants their piece of the pie”.

What about current players like Connor McDavid?

“It all just comes back to the money. The kids are a big part of that, a lot of young kids are Connor McDavid fans… remember us buying Nike as kids watching Michael Jordan. They see these guys and think what is BetMGM?” says Pace.

As Kelly Provost reported from a CBC interview with Shauna Altrogge, "Sitting down and watching the hockey game in the evening and you've got little kids consuming those same ads. Over time, what effect could that possibly have on our younger folks? When you look at all of those things, it's a bit of a worry," she said.

Shauna is director of the Gambling Awareness Program with the Canadian Mental Health Association's Saskatchewan division.

So where do we go from here?

Regulation Is Coming

The bottom line is that many are unhappy with the takeover of sports betting marketing and a lack of regulation that applies to them.

For now at least, it appears that their leash is incredibly long.

But that could be changing soon.

As Joe Hernandez of NPR reported last summer, “The U.S. isn't regulating sports betting ads, but other countries do. Italy imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising in 2018. The United Kingdom recently outlawed the appearance of celebrities and sports stars in sports betting ads.”

In the US, advertisers are required to follow the Federal Trade Commission’s Truth In Advetising and that’s really all when it comes to federal oversight of the sports betting industry.

As Chris Van Buskirk reported for Mass Live, “The Gaming Commission is looking to curtail sports betting advertising delivered specifically to at-risk groups, including young adults, said Mark Vander Linden, the agency’s director of research and responsible gambling.”

This regulation would slam ads that have pics/logos, celebs, athletes or other terminology to those under 21, and attempt to halt ads at schools & social platforms used by minors.

Chris also reported First Assistant Attorney Pat Moore’s fear: “I watch the Celtics every night. I watch with my 10-year-old on connected TV… He’s getting the message that to enjoy the Celtics game, he’s got to bet on it. That’s not the message that we should be leaving 10-year-olds in the commonwealth.”

Apparently the Gaming Commission is taking all concerns into consideration as the regulation on sports betting continues.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, betting is an exciting way to add an extra layer of thrill to your favorite sporting events while potentially earning some money in the process.

However, it's important for potential bettors to be aware that there is an inherent risk involved, and that it should never be taken lightly — even when your favorite superstar or idol is seen doing it.

Until next time, keep your mind sharp and always be thinking critically when you’re exposed to betting commercials & celeb bettors, so you can make the most informed betting decisions possible.

Mark Rodgman

Mark is a Top 30 Under 30, award-winning entrepreneur & the co-founder of inplayLIVE. He’s consulted some of the most famous companies in the world like Samsung, Cisco, Kickstarter, as well as many of the fastest growing Google-backed startups from Silicon Valley.