The connection between the NFL and tireless, intrepid sports gambling is one of the most unlikely marriages imaginable – even in Las Vegas, where many long-running weddings have taken place.
When more than 115 million viewers are expected to watch Super Bowl 58 on CBS on Sunday, the partnership will be impossible to miss, with shots of the Strip from above Allegiant Stadium and precious little desert landscapes behind Nevada's towering casinos.
Yet there will be a notable lack of synergy between the historic “Sin City” gambit of the Super Bowl and the tremendous reach of legalized sports gambling, now permitted in 38 states and throughout the United States.
As of Thursday, only two sports gambling ads had been booked during the game broadcast – two fewer than the cap loosely set by the NFL.
Tired of the DraftKings guitar riff or Kevin Hart's high-energy shtick? Well, after two straight years of in-game advertising, they're being demoted to a spot on the pregame show.
And what does the viewer have left for around four hours of gameplay?
Just two old Patriots: Tom Brady, emerging from relatively low-key retirement to work with Vince Vaughn on behalf of BetMGM. And Rob Gronkowski is back, the legendary tight end once again taking on the strange task of attempting a field goal on behalf of FanDuel.
This Super Bowl symbolically completes the NFL's 180-degree turnaround in sports betting, and for all the irony and righteous indignation that marks the occasion, it is notable that the online sports betting industry – expected to reach $10 billion in revenue by 2024 US dollars will reach – this no longer feels you need to maximize brand awareness.
Fewer ads, but billions more in sales
And maybe that's because the war is already won. The sports betting flag is firmly anchored in the ground and anchored on your mobile phone.
“The fact that they didn't sell out all the (gambling) ads just tells me that maybe they feel like they don't need to,” says Daniel Kelly II, clinical professor and academic director of graduate programs at Preston Robert Tisch of the NYU Institute for Global Sport.
“It's one of those industries where you don't have to see advertising, but you know it exists and will be part of the game and the gaming experience. I think that’s really special because for the most part other industries need to take full advantage of all the other commercial opportunities.”
That was certainly the case for a few years. The 2018 Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for the legalization of sports betting exposed what everyone knew: people are betting on sports, and betting on them by the billions. An estimated $23.1 billion will be wagered this Super Bowl Sunday, some of it legally.
And for the past six years, casinos and emerging sports betting apps have waged a two-front war – convincing states to legalize sports betting and attracting loyal customers once they go live.
Hence the deluge of promo codes and celebrity glitz and the invasion of virtually every televised sporting event. But the roar could calm down.
Advertising analyst MediaRadar notes that gambling ad buys across all media were flat from 2022 to 2023 and fell significantly in the third quarter; DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM each reduced their advertising spending year over year.
That's not to say that gambling ads are hard to miss – perhaps even within the content you're currently enjoying. And despite this reduced advertising space, revenue continues to rise.
DraftKings reported third-quarter revenue rose 57% to $790 million, a period that coincided with the company leapfrogging FanDuel to No. 1 in market share for the first time since the gambling floodgates opened. However, the two are reportedly neck and neck in terms of market share (31% to 30%) as even more competitors – ESPN Bet and Fanatics, as well as many other long shots – come online.
But appetite doesn't seem to be a problem.
From November 2022 to November 2023, nationwide monthly retail and online sports gambling sales increased 42%, from $10 billion to $14.2 billion.
New Jersey and New York — which include Nevada at No. 1 and No. 3 in revenue after PASPA, the law protecting professional and amateur sports, was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018 — both set monthly records in November 2023. with New York recording $2.1 billion in bets and New Jersey $1.6 billion.
BetMGM is hoping to get a bigger piece of that pie. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $458 million and claims an 18% share of the sports gambling market – a steep climb to catch up with DraftKings and Fanduel.
Enter seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady and “Swingers” star Vaughn on stage in Las Vegas. Their Super Bowl spot ends as they look up at the bright lights of the Strip.
“I like what MGM is doing by going all out,” says Charles R. Taylor, a professor at the Villanova School of Business. “Maybe they can really stand out in this Super Bowl with less competition in this category.
“I'm surprised the category hasn't grown a little bit more, but it could actually be good for the NFL. You have to be careful not to associate them too much with gambling. And with the Super Bowl in Las Vegas this year, one would have expected there would have been more gambling advertising than ever before.”
House money
The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs are now the performers in this circus, but the rules and regulations of the area are designed to keep them out of the Sin City vortex.
They are not staying on the Strip, but in hotels far east of the city. Although NFL players are banned from betting on the game and sports betting (unless they simply can't avoid it while walking through a casino), gambling of any kind is banned for players this week.
It may seem a little hypocritical, apart from the fact that the games actually need to be isolated from gambling activities (integrity!). And the betting activity is at least partially reaching back to the players – indirectly for a long time and now directly.
When the Supreme Court's decision gave states the ability to allow sports betting, the American Gaming Association estimated that sponsorships and partnerships, use of data and increased media consumption could bring in $2.3 billion annually to the NFL.
And if one sports betting partner is good, why not four? Since then, the NFL has signed deals with MGM, Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings as official sports betting partners.
The reach is suddenly very tangible, unlike the decades-long question of how much the cornerback, the office pool or your Super Bowl square contest drove engagement and revenue for America's sports giants.
Now the various crawls and tickers at the bottom of the screen constantly draw attention to the betting lines, and the pre-game jokey show is no longer conveyed with a wink and a nod to the point spread and total; The favorite and the underdog are visible to the whole world.
“At first it bothered me as a consumer,” says NYU’s Kelly. “It was a little distracting; I'm not a player.
“But it’s such a part of the game that I don’t even notice it now.”
This is called earned media for sports betting – all without having to spend $7 million on a 30-second ad.
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