FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics have all shifted their strategies ahead of this year’s Big Game, as sportsbooks seek value in where, when, and how they advertise their products.
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Sportsbooks are changing their approach to advertising ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, the most popular day of television nearly every year.
Key Takeaways
- FanDuel and BetMGM will not advertise their brand during the Super Bowl.
- Fanatics Sportsbook will show its first Super Bowl ad, featuring Kendall Jenner.
- One 30-second Super Bowl commercial costs an average of $8 million.
Sports betting has nearly become synonymous with the sports industry. Thirty-nine states offer legal sports betting, and fantasy sports contests and prediction platforms service customers in markets without legal betting options.
Sportsbooks’ hold on the market didn’t happen overnight. ESPN stated earlier this year that sportsbooks spent about $666 million just on advertising in 2024.
However, changing times call for an evolution in strategy.
“Advertisements are switching a little bit in the sports-betting world because they’ve already captured a vast majority of the market,” Matthew Bakowicz, who currently heads the sports management program at American University and previously managed sportsbook operations for DraftKings at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, told Marketing Brew. “(Regardless,) the biggest expense that sportsbooks spend on is marketing.”
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Sportsbooks bring new marketing ideas
The leader among U.S. sports betting operators, FanDuel, is taking a new approach to its Super Bowl advertising.
After showcasing its brand during ad spots in three consecutive Super Bowls, the Flutter-owned sportsbook is running a weeklong campaign that will conclude with an ad near the end of the Super Bowl pregame show.
“We’ve found that the moments leading up to kickoff are when fans are most engaged,” Mike Raffensperger, president of sports at FanDuel, told Marketing Brew. “A pre-kick approach lets us show up at a moment that feels more intentional and less crowded, while still reaching one of the largest audiences of the year.”
BetMGM is sitting out of the advertising war entirely. CRO Matt Prevost told Marketing Brew that the company transitioned to acquiring “higher-value players” as opposed to targeting a national audience.
Fanatics Sportsbook is taking a different approach. The company purchased its first-ever Super Bowl advertising slot for its “Bet on Kendall” campaign with Kendall Jenner, in which she embraces an internet joke that she brings bad luck to her ex-boyfriends, several of whom played in the NBA.
The full 90-second version of the advertisement was released online Jan. 27, more than a week before the Big Game.
“If you really want to try to win the Super Bowl and create the most chatter and break the internet … you need to drop early, and you need to ramp up,” said Michael D. Ratner, founder and CEO of OBB Media and CEO of Fanatics Studios. “You want to lean into the new media era and social media era that we live in.”
Approaches, costs of Super Bowl marketing
Super Bowl advertisements are about more than surprise celebrity appearances. Sportsbooks often offer lucrative deals, such as bet and win guarantees, deposit matches, and insurance bets that return customers’ losing wagers in the form of bonus bets.
FanDuel last year executed its Kick of Destiny 3 campaign with NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning. FanDuel customers were tasked with choosing which brother would win a kicking contest, and those who picked the winner correctly would split a share of $10 million in bonus bets.
Companies that choose to advertise during the Big Game will have to fork over a pretty penny. Mike Marshall, head of global advertising for NBCUniversal, said last month on John Ourand’s “The Varsity” podcast that a 30-second commercial costs about $8 million, and companies pay $10 million or more in certain cases.