The new NFL season started on the weekend, and one of Ontario’s leading sports betting brands, theScore Bet, has debuted its fall ad campaign just in time for the opening games. Titled “Does My App Do That?” the campaign features new commercial sports, which demonstrate the unique combined media and betting experience through the mobile app.
theScore is one of the many private gambling operators who tout a provincial license by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Via the permit, the company is able to offer sports wagering and online casino offerings to Ontarians of legal age. At the end of last week, the province adopted new advertising rules, but those will come into effect in February 2024.
Two New Spots Now Airing
In its new two commercial spots, the company has put intertwined characters who embody theScore and theScore Bet brands. Through their interactions in the two commercials, they demonstrate the operator’s streamlined betting experience, which is one of the company’s leading verticals in Ontario’s market for digital sports wagers.
Each spot displays customers at a sports bar, with one summing theScore Bet and providing relevant sports betting-related information while another character shows the seamless experience of placing an informed bet. These sports were developed with help from the Toronto-based marketing agency Diamond and were directed by The Director Brothers, Ryan McNeely and Josh Martin.
The new betting campaign also marks the end of the “Get Into Bet Mode” campaign which started in March 2022. This initiative promoted the sportsbook’s new at the time feature “Bet Mode,” as comedian Susie Essman, actor Rex Lee and TV personality Gerry Dee presented it. But these three are celebrities and the spots might be illegal under the new provincial rules.
Athletes Barred from Betting Ads
As mentioned, at the end of August, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario announced that it would be banning the use of professional active or retired athletes in gambling advertisements. The decision came after the iGaming watchdog was heavily criticized for the bombardment of betting ads during sports games and their potential harm to children.
Moreover, the amended Standards for Internet Gaming limit the use of celebrities, role models, social media influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures and symbols that are implied to appeal to minors. These changes bolster the existing standard that, before the recent updates, banned the use of advertising and marketing content with a primary appeal to minors.
After the update in the advertising protocols, AGCO gave private operators a window to adjust marketing strategies. The new rules come into play on February 28, 2024. theScore Bet has not provided a statement regarding the changes. But its “Does My App Do That” commercials should not be affected by it due to not featuring celebrity actors.
