Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel are the first major US sportsbooks to announce marketing offers ahead of the NFL season. Both are revisiting past successful campaigns in an effort to land new customers.
The lead-up to NFL kickoff is the biggest customer acquisition opportunity of the year for US sportsbooks.
“Football is always the most competitive season,” FanDuel CEO Amy Howe told Yahoo Finance ahead of the 2022 NFL season. “It is the number one acquisition moment for, candidly, all sports betting operators.”
Traditionally, the NFL season accounts for 35% of US sportsbook revenue, according to multiple sources. It is then, by definition, the time of year with the highest customer-acquisition spend. For the period of 1 September 2023-26 December 2023, the Public Gaming Research Institute reported that US sportsbooks spent $237.8m on television advertising. For the same time period, Pennsylvania’s wagering operators claimed about $117m in promotional credits.
Fanatics Sportsbook leverages merchandise
Offers come in a variety of forms. Some sportsbooks offer customers matching funds or credits they can use to bet. Others offer points or rewards connected to loyalty programmes. While still others, like Fanatics and FanDuel, offer goods or services.
Fanatics has big plans for its “Jersey Drop,” an acquisition tool it has employed in the past. As part of the biggest sports merchandise company in the US, Fanatics can offer this unique promotion at a lower cost than another sportsbook could. Fanatics launched its $5m promo in mid-August.
The company is “dropping” jerseys into selected customer accounts. It also has plans to hand-deliver team jerseys to customers in Chicago and New York with “takeovers” of landmarks across the two cities. The jersey drop will be in tandem with “creative digital activations”. It will also introduce new media commercials and hand out “premium boxes” to “fans that show off their fandom in everyday life”.
Fanatics kicked off its football customer-acquisition campaign in New York City with Fanatics Fest 16-18 August.
“Football is more than just a game – it is an experience that people look forward to all year long,” Selena Kalvaria, chief marketing officer for Fanatics Betting & Gaming, said via press release. “On the heels of Fanatics Fest, we will continue to put our fans at the centre of it all. With our $5M Jersey Drop, on-the ground activations in New York and Chicago, a new 360 campaign across all touchpoints and more ways to earn FanCash this season – Fanatics Sportsbook will be the destination for fans to play on game day.”
Fantatics customers can earn FanCash when they wager and it can be used to purchase merchandise.
While Fanatics leverages its merchandise business, FanDuel is using its partnership with YouTube to entice new customers, it announced in a press release. All customers – and existing players – who bet $5 will get a free three-week NFL Sunday Ticket trial from YouTube.
FanDuel is also rolling out advertisements highlighting its “Hunches” campaign. The concept is that players can turn their “intuition” into a bet on FanDuel. The first ad dropped on 20 August and featured comedian Eric Andre, spouting hunches that he could turn into a parlay.
Both companies will also offer bonus bets to new customers.
Among other promotions:
- DraftKings is offering $200 in bonus bets and one free month of NFL+ for new customers;
- Caesars Sportsbook and Penn Entertainment’s ESPN Bet are offering up to $1,000 as a first-bet “rebet” to new customers with a minimum deposit and bet; and
- BetMGM is offering up to $1,500 in bonus bets on a losing first bet to new customers with a minimum deposit and wager.
It’s likely that operators will introduce other NFL specials as the start of the season gets closer. The regular season starts on 5 September, when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens. The first full slate of Sunday games is set for 8 September. The Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers open their season on 9 September on Monday Night Football when they host the New York Jets.
Season-long pools another way to build brand recognition
Nearly every sportsbook, big or small, will offer promotions involving bonus bets. But two Las Vegas sportsbooks put a premium by getting their names out in a different way. Circa Sports and SuperBook won’t be giving away merchandise or partnering with a media company. Rather, both will double down their season-long NFL pools, which offer millions in prizes and draw attention to their products.
Circa is live online in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada and West Virginia. SuperBook withdrew its online offering everywhere except Nevada earlier this year.
Circa is running two season-long contests, the Circa Millions VI with $6m in guaranteed prizes and Circa Survivor, a winner-take-all $10m contest. Registration for both ends at 2pm local time on 7 September. SuperBook is also running multiple contests, including its season-long SuperContest and Pro Football Season Wins Contest. The SuperContest has multiple versions, including “mini” contests within the season. The winner gets 42% of the pool. Entries are due by 7 September at 3pm local time.
For both contests, customers must register in person, but can use a proxy to make in-person picks during the season.
