The NHL will develop hockey-themed creative and dedicate league-controlled marketing assets in support of an American Gaming Association public service campaign aimed at responsible gambling. Using co-branded in-arena video board spots and announcements as well as digital inventory, the NHL will develop content around the AGA’s “Have a Game Plan” campaign, which recommends bettors set and stick to budgets, understand odds and risk, view betting as a social activity and bet with regulated U.S. sportsbooks. The league also will work with clubs in states that allow sports betting to develop responsible gambling content tailored to their teams and markets. It is the second sports league to sign on for the campaign, joining NASCAR. “There is an inherent opportunity for the (sports) properties to not only generate revenue and engagement from this new category, but also to talk about the importance of responsible gaming,” said NHL Exec VP & Chief Business Officer Keith Wachtel. “The AGA came up with a program ... that allowed the sports properties to get involved and utilize touchpoints and assets to help drive home that message.”
MAKING THEIR PRESENCE KNOWN: The AGA launched its public service campaign with signs in arenas in DC and Las Vegas in March, one week before U.S. sports shut down. It has invited properties across sports to participate, adapting content to fit its own culture and lexicon. NASCAR attached the tagline “Take a Pit Stop” to its responsible gambling content. “Our goal is to make sure that people who are seeing significantly more content around sports betting, and who are exposed to more opportunities to bet legally on sports in their markets, are able to better understand what that means,” said AGA Senior VP/ Strategic Communications Casey Clark. “There are a lot of people who are going to be curious about it. It’s important to make sure they understand where they can bet legally and where they can’t and some core principles about what it means to bet responsibly, and really see this as a form of entertainment and not anything other than that.”
For more on the AGA’s campaign and the role of the NHL and other properties within it, check out the debut issue of our SBJ Betting newsletter, arriving in your inbox later on Friday.
