Advertising "an important part of a regulated marketplace"
Canadian Gaming Association leader Paul Burns continues to seek clarity on the AGCO's proposed changes on ads and marketing campaigns. Also, Josh Turk on the Low6/NHL partnership.
In this issue:
Advertising “an important part of a regulated marketplace”
Turk keeping close tabs on NHL All-Star voting
FanDuel giving us more Gronk
Keith Pelley to lead MLSE
Join us on the Gaming News Canada Show
Advertising “an important part of a regulated marketplace” Burns
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is putting the final touches this week on a guidance document for its amendments to the standards for marketing and advertising in the province’s sports betting and igaming industry. The head of the Canadian Gaming Association made it clear Tuesday that licensed operators are laser-focused on playing by the rules, and have been doing just that since Day 1.
“Advertising is an important part of a regulated marketplace. . . it’s one of the privileges that operators have,” Burns, playing hurt in trying to shake off the flu/cold/bug/virus that has sent most of us to our local Shoppers Drug Mart this winter, told Gaming News Canada. “And no one wants to do anything that appeals to minors.”
What Burns appropriately called a “very emotional debate” between regulated operators in Ontario and folks feeling overwhelmed by the volume of (mostly) sports betting ads on television when the market opened in April 2022 prompted the AGCO last April to announce proposed changes to restrict the use of athletes, celebrities and influencers in advertising. While the AGCO backtracked from its heavy-handed approach with the April announcement to meeting with industry stakeholders last fall to hear their concerns, there appears to be little changing with the standards that will go into effect Feb. 28.
Athletes, current and retired, can’t be used in advertising or marketing campaigns unless it’s to promote gambling responsibly. The same goes for cartoon figures, symbols, role models, social media influencers, celebrities, or entertainers “who would likely be expected to appeal to minors”. That “likely be expected to appeal” language is as grey as the weather on the shores of Lake Huron this week.
“It’s confusing to operators,” said Burns, who continues to work on collecting more feedback from CGA members for the AGCO. “The timing of this change was based on emotion and response. Everyone needs to understand the facts, and this hasn’t been based on a lot of facts.”
That, said Burns, would include the decline in minors (under 18) watching television, and a settling down of the initial advertising/marketing spend frenzy in Ontario. Burns also pointed out the continuing ability that non-regulated operators have to advertise without fear of punishment or other actions.
“Advertising has been declining and levelling off, and we all knew that was going to happen. The market is going to start to mature.”
Low6 strategy boss keeps close tabs on NHL All-Star voting
Josh Turk is no different than many folks working on the business side of sports, your congenial chronicler included.
“As a kid I grew up wanting to play in the NHL,” Turk said yesterday afternoon during a Google Meet interview, a few framed NHL jerseys - including one from Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand - hanging on a wall behind his desk.
“Now I get to work with them.”
This week has been one of the special variety for the chief strategy officer of Low6, the UK-based sports gamification business which has the NHL as both a client and a shareholder. Low6 built the NHL All-Star Vote portal, where hockey fans can select by midnight tonight their favourite player for the Feb. 3 game in Toronto. As of Tuesday, more than 20 million fans had participated since the website opened Jan. 4, with Maple Leafs forward William Nylander leading all skaters as of Tuesday (perhaps with a bump from his whopping new contract).
“We’ve grown 25 per cent since then, and are well ahead to break the (previous record of) total ballots,” said Turk, who admits spending substantial chunks of his “off time” checking the data-filled dasherboards created by Low6 on behalf of its clients. “We’re not talking about daily, we’re talking about hourly in terms of participation. We’ve built a very sophisticated back end where we can drill down to see who’s a Leafs fan, where they’re from, what time of day do they play (our free-to-play) games. For the All-Star Game, we’ve had votes from Mozambique and Madagascar.”
Low6 has created NHL PrePlay in partnership with Bet99 for the Ontario market, and has also built NHL Stats Streak, NHL Pepsi Goalie Challenge, and NHL Bracket Challenge.
“The NHL has a very impressive fan base; they’re hardcore,” said Turk, who recently joined his company’s board of directors. “The league has done very well engaging their fans and providing them with value beyond the product on the ice. We’re gamifying content for them.”
Low6 has carved out a niche as a middle person of sorts between sportsbook/gaming operators and sports leagues and teams, creating games, quizzes, trivia contests, etc., that both add value to sponsorships and provide customer data to the sportsbooks and rightsholders.
“Free to play has the power of delivering first-party data. That’s been undervalued,” said Turk, then adding, “In the igaming space, brands are more self-aware that they just don’t want to be a sportsbook . . . . they want to be more than transactional and that’s where free-to-play games come in.
“We’re finding these days that every beer company has a 0-per-cent beer. Free to play is your non-alcoholic beer (in the gaming industry).”
Turk will join us on the Gaming News Canada Show this afternoon to discuss further free-to-play’s evolving place in the business of sports betting and igaming.
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FanDuel is giving us more Gronk at Super Bowl LVIII
From the files of If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again. Or, was it A Sequel is the Sincerest Form of Flattery? . . .
Regardless, FanDuel and Rob Gronkowski are resurrecting the Kick of Destiny for next month’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Once again, the retired NFL tight end will attempt to kick a 25-yard field goal for $10 million in bonus bets for FanDuel customers. A year ago, Gronkowski went wide left with his KOD attempt.
“I can’t lie, when I missed the Kick of Destiny during last year’s Super Bowl, it was devastating,” Gronkowski said in a press release sent to Gaming News Canada HQ at the beginning of the week. “I told the team at FanDuel I knew I could do better and needed a shot at redemption this year.
“I’m going to show America I can make that kick, even with all the pressure of doing it live in front of the entire country. No wind is going to stop me, and we’re going through the uprights this year for everyone who picks that I’m going to make the kick.”
A FanDuel Canada spokesperson let us knows that TSN will be supporting the KOD leading up to the Super Bowl, and there’s also a media campaign being executed across the Greater Toronto Area. The sportsbook’s Ontario customers can make their make-or-miss picks starting Jan. 15. Also, the $10-million prize pool is only eligible for players south of the border.
Promotion of the Kick of Destiny campaign will include commercials featuring Gronk, actor Carl Weathers and wrestler/actor John Cena.
Keith Pelley is coming home to lead MLSE
In the summer of 1994, yours truly was cutting his teeth in the communications field doing media relations for Tennis Canada when we first crossed paths with a young dynamic fella named Keith Pelley, who was producing the Canadian men’s tennis tournament.
We’d run into each other over the next 30 years as Pelley truly climbed the corporate ladder as president of TSN, president of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, president of the media consortium to execute on the Canadian broadcast rights for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and president of Rogers Media - where he had a hand in grabbing the Canadian TV and digital rights to the NHL away from the CBC and TSN.
Most recently, the man with the Eveready Bunny-esque mind and wide selection of spectacles has been the chief executive of the European Tour golf enterprise which is trying to move ahead on a new venture with the Saudi government-backed LIV Tour and the PGA Tour. That’s about to be past tense as TSN’s Rick Westhead broke the news yesterday that Pelley, who turns 60 today, is about to be named the president and chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
(UPDATE SHORTLY AFTER WE HIT THE PUBLISH BUTTON)
It’s a plum position in the sports world despite the unwieldy ownership structure that involves Larry Tanenbaum, Rogers Communications and Bell. While a cynic is likely to suggest the new gig allows Pelley to make his return to the true north, strong and free and collect a handsome paycheque to rub elbows with the rich and famous in the directors lounge at Scotiabank Arena, that ain’t his style. And, that could impact MLSE’s strategy when it comes to squeezing more revenue from Ontario’s rather robust regulated gambling industry (the company currently has FanDuel, Jackpot City, PokerStars, PointsBet and OLG/ProLine as corporate partners.
Pelley’s hiring is among the topics to be discussed on the weekly Gaming News Canada Show this afternoon at 1 ET on LinkedIn Audio.
Join us on the Gaming News Canada Show
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Regular contributors Amanda Brewer, Phill Gray and Kris Abbott are scheduled to join us along with special guest Josh Turk. Also, Mark Silver, Mike Day and Jonah Sigel will drop by to discuss the Keith Pelley hiring by MLSE.
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Classified (Jobs) Information
BV Group is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Head of Emerging Markets, whose oversight will include the company’s business in Ontario. Also wanted: a Due Diligence Officer, and there’s an opening for a Compliance Analyst - Ontario.
Malta-based TalentBet is looking for a Head of Compliance.
Wanted by iGaming Ontario: an Agency Governance Advisor.
PointsBet Canada is in the market for an Associate, Affiliate Marketing.
DAZN Bet is on the lookout for a Head of Product Operations.
Livespins is hiring a Senior Marketing Executive B2B.
White Hat Gaming has a remote opportunity for a Business Intelligence and Reporting Analyst.
BCLC has an opening for a Senior Product Specialist, eCasino.
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment is in hiring mode for a Senior Financial Analyst.
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) is hiring a Marketing Data Analyst.
Among the current job openings at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is a Gaming Programming and Experience Coordinator.
DraftKings is on the lookout for a Manager, Risk Analytics.
Pittsburgh-based esports operator Knights has an opening for a Director of Business Development.
Paysafe is seeking a Senior Business Development Manager.
Everi Holdings is in the market for a Java Backend Engineer - Java, Spring, Microservices, DB.
DAZN Bet is searching for a Product Manager - Payments.
Bally’s has an opening for a Customer Insights Manager at its London location.
Hard Rock Digital is seeking a Data Warehouse Engineer for its Poland location.
The PWHL league office is searching for a Manager, Partnership Services.
Wavemaker has a cornucopia of career opportunities in Toronto, Montreal and New York.
The PGA Tour is in hiring mode for a Specialist, Business & Collegiate Relations.
The NCAA has an opportunity for a Director, Marketing - Events.
Toronto-based marketing company the greater is searching for a Strategist.
The LPGA Tour is in the market for a Communications Coordinator.
Volleyball Canada is seeking a Lead, Finance and Administration.
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