Wynn Resorts Brings in Ben Affleck, Shaq to Promote Sports Betting App

Wynn Resorts Ltd. is looking to make a huge impact on this football season as the company will spend upwards of $100 million advertising its new sportsbook app. This is yet another example of how online wagering is shaping the gambling industry. On Monday, Wynn Resorts debuted a new TV ad in which two celebrities made an interesting appearance. The ad starred the basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and one of Hollywood’s most renowned actors, Ben Affleck. O’Neal is WynnBet’s brand ambassador.

NFL Names Wynn, Others Gambling Partners

The National Football League (NFL) has named Wynn as an additional gambling partner, joining Fox Bet, BetMGM and PointsBet as the latest additions. In April, Caesars Entertainment Inc., FanDuel and DraftKings Inc. gained similar status by the NFL as the aforementioned betting companies, but it was more extensive. In the recent period, DraftKings has been making substantial moves to expand on the US market.

These seven operators are designated as preferred betting companies by the league with the goal of generating more revenue for owners of the teams as well as limiting clutter while broadcasts are taking place. A maximum of six ads about betting on sports will be featured on each NFL broadcast.

Some of the more extensive rights of the first three operators include the use of official NFL logos in advertising campaigns and using highlights of the games, as well as sponsorships with media properties of the league. This is a five-year deal with the operators and it is worth more than $1 billion.

Three years ago, the US Supreme Court allowed other states apart from Nevada to offer betting services, which marked the expansion of the sportsbook industry. These days, more than 50% of the US states have legalized it and according to the gambling information site PlayUSA, the number of legal bets placed on pro and college football this season could triple and reach $20 billion.

DraftKings and FanDuel Entered Online Sports Betting Early

Two of the biggest daily fantasy sports leaders – DraftKings and FanDuel – were two of the earliest entries into the market of sports betting. Last year, they spent a total of $311 million on TV ads, which is three times more than what they spent in 2019, according to research firm Kantar. The CEO of DraftKings, Jason Robins, spoke to analysts earlier this month and said that the NFL is the company’s holiday season. That’s because, during this period, the company reactivates large player base portions and acquires the highest numbers of new players.

Recently, even traditional operators like MGM Resorts International, Caesars and Penn National Gaming Inc. have decided to put extra effort into online gaming. Caesars stated that it plans on acquiring new players by spending more than $1 billion in the course of the next two and a half years. Recently, Caesars started offering a risk-free first bet worth $5,000 to all newly registered players.

Penn and MGM are also making outstanding moves. MGM decided to hire Jamie Foxx to extend its ad campaign and it continues offering generous bonuses and promotions, one of which is a $50,000 reward to players that will guess the NFL’s top-six scoring teams of the weekend in a row. On the other hand, Penn recently agreed to purchase Score Media & Gaming Inc., a Canadian online operator. The deal came through this month and the companies valued it at $2 billion.

Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s chief revenue officer, stated that the company operates in an extremely competitive and crowded landscape and some consumers will lean towards a headline number that is big.

Wynn Looks For Huge Market Jump

Wynn owns casinos in three popular gambling destinations – Macau, Las Vegas and Boston, MA. It is also set to merge its interactive unit by acquiring a special purpose vehicle. The deal is likely to be closed this year and if it happens, the new entity will have cash money of around $640 million to deploy.

The money that Wynn spends this year includes sponsorships and TV ads, as well as other initiatives on customer acquisition. This was stated by the interactive unit’s CEO, Craig Billings.

Wynn’s app allows customers to interact with many players, including their friends, which is something that Affleck emphasized in the commercials as he was taking pieces of advice on betting. Additionally, Wynn is planning on buying a spot for the Super Bowl.

The company currently runs online betting operations in six states and these states are the targeted regions for marketing. Four more states might be added by the time the season ends. Billings stated that the states’ adoption pace is unlike anything that he has seen.