ESPN Bet gets a fresh, minty logo, and Rivalry's brings some black magic to marketing blitz in Brazil
The soon-to-be-launched online sportsbook unveiled its brand image yesterday. Meanwhile, there's an influencer, a half-man, half-goat, and voodoo dolls all wrapped up in an esports ad.
In this issue:
ESPN Bet unveils its logo
Rivalry’s unique marketing campaign in Brazil
IBIA releases Q3 integrity report
Gaming News Canada returns to LinkedIn Audio
Bristol, we have a logo. . . .
In case you’re scratching your noggin at the Bristol reference in the headline, that would be the Connecticut base of the Worldwide Leader which yesterday unveiled the logo for ESPN Bet.
The latest online sportsbook in the U.S. of A. is expected to launch next month, and the news release introducing the brand was short and sweet, as it should be (let’s face it, as with any new look, there are going to be fans and not fans). From the communique:
The brand itself features the universally recognizable ‘ESPN,’ while the sportsbook app will be branded an ‘E’ in the ‘B,’ which creatively expresses the idea that ESPN, in partnership with PENN Entertainment, is launching a sportsbook for fans, but at its core is still ESPN, the most trusted brand in sports.
The mint colour was chosen to be welcoming, inclusive, unexpected, and fun.
We didn’t know mint was meant to be fun, although an afternoon cup of peppermint tea in the fall and winter gives us the warms and fuzzies. And, mint chocolate is on our top-five list of favourite ice cream.
But, we digress.
ESPN was also featured in the latests EKG Line dispatch this morning from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which reiterated its predictions from last week’s presentation at the Global Gaming Expo that ESPN Bet, Bet365 or Hard Rock Bet could make a serious dent in the American online sports betting market next year. From EKGL:
ESPN Bet could conceivably buy that level of share in the next twelve months with its plan to spend $150mm (U.S.) a year on ESPN marketing and another $150mm on external marketing.
The logo unveiling comes on the same day that The Walt Disney Company released financials for ESPN as part of a company reorganization. It also lands in the same week that Pierre Lindh and Co. at iGaming Next announced a rebranding of its identity (welcome. . . NEXT.io). And, sometime in December, Hard Rock Casino Vancouver will be renamed Great Canadian Casino Vancouver.
With that, we raise our mint julep to the companies - and the branding experts, graphic artists and other consultants whose digital wallets are better for new names and new logos.
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Rivalry goes rogue again with marketing campaign in Brazil
So, your collegial correspondent and Gaming News Canada publisher Mark Silver are sitting at a gate inside Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas eight days ago, trying to figure out how to steal at least a couple of hours of shut-eye on the red-eye flight to Toronto.
Rivalry CEO Steven Salz, exercising the same fiscal responsibility as yours truly, joins us and the conversation turns to the Toronto-based company’s latest marketing campaign in Brazil around the League of Legends World Championship tournament. Seeing the somewhat puzzled look on the faces of Monsieur Silver and I as he’s talking about voodoo dolls, dark magic and a Brazilian influencer nicknamed Baiano, Salz calmly reaches into his backpack, opens up his laptop and asks us to watch this video:
Connor McDavid and Wayne Gretzky racing Zambonis or Aaron Paul pushing same game parlays, it’s not. Rather, as Salz has told us during previous interviews or most recently with Ted Orme-Clay of SBC News, Rivalry goes down a different road when it comes to recruiting customers from the Gen Z and millennial demographic. And that includes influencers like Baiano, aka Gustavo Gomes, a former professional esports player.
In this latest collaboration, Gomes calls a friend to help him steer his esports team to a World Championship victory. The friend, who just happens to be half-man, half-goat, presents Baiano with a case of voodoo dolls of pro esports players which is used to perform black magic to the benefit of the influencer’s team.
Rivalry Canada has another influencer relationship with Mohan “launders” Govindasamy with a focus on CounterStrike.
“Influencers are approaching our global team asking to join a partner program and become an official partner,” Salz told Orme-Claye. “I can’t imagine many sports brands are having that experience, and we’ve noticed that some are getting targeted by other brands once we sign them.
“We put a massive creative powerhouse behind our influencers, we plan massive activations, we find people for them to collaborate with in the local market and ultimately create long-term leverage.”
The Baiano campaign is Rivalry’s latest activation in Brazil, as the company earlier this year announced partnerships with an esports organization and Counter-Strike content business Tribo. A push by legislators to make gambling legal in the South American country is the motivation behind Rivalry’s growing presence in what will be one of the biggest betting markets on the planet.
Back here on the home front, we’re laying the blame for the lack of sleep on our flight at Salz, his laptop, and the fella with the goat horns on his head and excessive hair on his hands. . .
IBIA makes public its Q3 integrity report
The International Betting Integrity Association, which monitors sports around the globe and is a partner of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, put out its third-quarter report yesterday. Of note:
Fifty alerts were reported for the July-September period, a decrease of 41 per cent over the same quarter in 2022.
Tennis represented the lion’s share of alerts reported with 15 although that’s a 55-per-cent decrease from the previous year.
Sixty per cent of the reported alerts (30) came from Europe. There were three alerts in North America, one in Guatemala (soccer) and two in the U.S. of A. (tennis).
From the report, specifically about what’s happening on this side of the ponds:
The Q3 integrity report includes a breakdown of alerts reported on sporting events taking
place in North America between 2018-2022. It also contains an analysis of tennis alerts,
which average 13 tennis cases per quarter in 2023 compared to an average of 26 per
quarter in 2022 and 20 per quarter in 2021. The latest US sports betting gross win
calculations, provided by leading global gambling market intelligence company H2 Gambling
Capital, show that the licensed onshore market is expected to reach US$11.7bn in gross
win in 2023, rising to US$18.9bn by 2026.
Also, we pass along a couple of screen grabs:
Gaming News Canada Show returns to LinkedIn Audio
Dave Pridmore, the Chief Gaming Officer for OLG, will be among our guests this afternoon when the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP returns to LinkedIn Audio.
We’ll ask Pridmore a few questions about the lottery corporation’s 2022-23 annual report that was released Monday, including the success of its digital gaming business in a very competitive Ontario marketplace. Regular contributors Amanda Brewer and Kris Abbott are also scheduled to join us and provide their thoughts on last week’s Global Gaming Expo.
Classified (Jobs) Information
International People Solutions B.V. is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Toronto-based CEO, iGaming.
FanDuel is hiring a Counsel Senior Director in New York.
Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Bristol, Tenn., is on the hunt for a VP, Marketing.
TheScore is seeking a Senior Technical Product Manager, Core Services, and is also in hiring mode for a Senior Change Management Analyst. The company that La Famille Levy built is also looking for a Risk & Trading: Player Analytics.
iGaming Ontario is hiring a Senior Procurement Advisor.
Bally’s Interactive is seeking an addition to its Toronto office as a Manager, iGaming Product Marketing. The company is also looking for Japanese-speaking Customer Service agents at the same location.
Entain is hiring for its Sports Interaction HQ in Montreal an Affiliate Account Manager.
Pinnacle has an opportunity in the city below Stouffville for a Senior Financial Reporting Analyst.
Fanatics has a veritable buffet of job openings with its betting and gaming business.
Kaizen Gaming is looking for a Marketing Executive in Toronto, and also has an opportunity at its home base in Greece for a Junior In-Play Trader.
Better Collective has an opportunity for a Head of Market - Netherlands.
Hard Rock Digital is searching for a Trading Proposition Manager and is also on the lookout for a Trading Real Time Analyst in the U.S. Meanwhile, its UK office has a spot available for a Director - Data Engineering & Analytics.
BV Group is seeking a Finance Manager for its operations in Gibraltar.
SBC Events has an opening for a Senior Media Partnerships Executive.
Pragmatic Play is in the market for a Game Presenter with Indonesian.
Wanted at DraftKings: a VIP Host.
OverActive Media is looking to fill the role of Director, Marketing: MAD Lions.
The company formerly known as iGaming Next is seeking a Product Owner for its Malta office.
The American Gaming Association is in hiring mode for a Director, Media Relations.
Front Office Sports is on the lookout for a Director, Events and Live Journalism.
Gamers Group has a remote/temporary opportunity for a Digital Focus Group Participant.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment has a very attractive senior executive opportunity for a VP Corporate Development.
The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is searching for an Education Coordinator.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League has openings in each of its six markets for an Associate, Fan Experience & Game Activations.
The NHL’s Toronto office is seeking a Manager, Partnership Marketing.
Canada Soccer is (once again) looking for a General Secretary.
Dan Pino and the very fine people with the communications team at Golf Canada have openings in the areas of content and social media, digital products, and digital communications.
The city below Malton requires a Project Manager Games & Events for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
The Toronto Blue Jays have a job opening for a Manager, Game Production.
The Ottawa Sport Council is seeking a Project Manager.
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