NY sports betting has been live for less than a week but some people are already sick of the ads.
TV, social media, online search and digital banners are all awash with betting adverts, according to locals. The New York sportsbook blitz caught some famous eyes last weekend.
“I haven’t seen an online sports betting ad in almost 7 minutes,” tweeted Conan O’Brien on Sunday. “Am I dead?”
Will Hershey, the CEO of sports betting ETF firm Roundhill, warned fellow NY residents that “every single ad on social will be for sports betting. For today and forever after.”
A quick Twitter search for ‘New York sports betting ads’ shows plenty of grumbling about the deluge of marketing
What does data show on NY sports betting ads?
Firm data is hard to come by, but iSpotTV numbers showed a ~50% bump in national TV ad impressions for sportsbooks in NFL Week 18, compared to Week 17.
That jump might have been driven by New York, though iSpot’s John Casillo warned it could stem from increased viewership around the final week of the regular season.
In New York specifically, FanDuel accounted for 34% of TV ad impressions in the first nine days of January. That was slightly ahead of Caesars (29%) and DraftKings (27%.)
Hail Caesar?
Morgan Stanley said in a note it observed “a high level of promotional marketing, with channel checks supporting our views”.
The analysts said Caesars appeared to be the most aggressive offering NY sportsbook promos of the four initial NY sportsbooks.
Some softer measures like app downloads and Google search data also showed Caesars gaining the largest share of mind.
Familiar problem with sportsbook ads
Gambling companies are known to get a little exuberant with a new state launch.
When Arizona sports betting launched last year, sportsbooks spent $30 million on ads in an “unprecedented” splurge, according to local marketing execs.
That has an economic downside, but too many ads also hurt effectiveness.
“We have a term called commercial wearout,” media consultant Brad Aldgate told LSR. “This occurs when viewers are exposed to the same ad message over and over again to the extent that it becomes counterproductive. Hence, it runs the risk of being a negative sell.”
Regulatory risk for NY sports betting?
It is not just consumers that get turned off. Regulators from Colorado and New Jersey have warned operators to cool it with the marketing.
NJ’s top gaming regulator David Rebuck told books last year:
“Don’t allow your marketing staff to operate unchecked. They can get you in a lot of trouble because they have different objectives to you. They are not thinking about compliance. They want to attract people and be creative but they cannot be unchecked.”
Rebuck said the regulator might have to step in, “and it will happen in a way you won’t be happy with.”
