Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx Cast as Face of BetMGM Sportsbook

Posted on: September 23, 2020, 08:06h. 

Last updated on: September 23, 2020, 10:15h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Actor Jamie Foxx is starring in a new advertising campaign promoting BetMGM, the sports betting and online gaming platform of MGM Resorts.

MGM says Foxx will be its leading man in a variety of traditional and social media advertising. The first brand campaign, “The King of Sportsbooks,” will hype the excitement that comes with having a wager on a sporting event.

The first video spot will feature Foxx levitating above the Fountains of Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. BetMGM Chief Marketing Officer Matt Prevost says Foxx’s unique talents brings an unrivaled ability to “tell our story in an incredible creative and entertaining way.”

BetMGM is live in five states: Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The interactive gaming network is a joint venture between MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings.

Foxx is a two-time Academy Award nominee, and won Best Actor in 2005 for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic “Ray.”

Betting Incentives 

The Supreme Court in May of 2018 ruled that the legality of sports betting should be a state decision.

Less than three years later, sports betting is up and running in 18 states, plus DC. Operators in the emerging industry are scrambling to grab market share.

Books are also trying to glorify their reputations by refunding unlikely losing outcomes. For example, PointsBet — live in New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa — refunded losing bets earlier this month. The game in question saw the Titans covering the spread against the Broncos after Tennessee kicker Stephen Gostkowski uncharacteristically missed three field goals and an extra point during the game.

Sportsbook Partnerships

Fans today are being bombarded with sports betting advertising, as sportsbooks are partnering with teams and leagues in an effort to lure in new bettors.

Sportsbooks are teaming up with franchises in the “Big Four” — NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Caesars Entertainment and MGM are paying large sums to have a presence inside Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has launched its own campaign to promote responsible sports betting marketing.

“Learning lessons from the UK and other European countries like Spain, where there are crackdowns in advertising, or even the US, with daily fantasy a few years ago, it’s important that the gaming industry have the opportunity to self-regulate and set a standard by which we market and advertise to our customers,” said Cait DeBaun, AGA’s senior director of strategic communications and responsibility.