As we hit the end of March, Problem Gambling Awareness Month comes to an end for an America that never had so many opportunities to place a wager. One company focused on launching a slate of initiatives during the period was FanDuel Group, with an eye to lead “industry efforts to help sports fans enjoy sports wagering responsibly,” this month as well as year-round by launching a new ad campaign, new themed content, making a donation to the National Council on Problem Gambling, and touting its responsible gaming tools, such as setting deposit, wager, and time limits. Cynopsis asked Adam Warrington, VP, Responsible Gaming at FanDuel about the initiatives.

Warrington on Problem Gambling Awareness Month: March has been an exciting month to launch new responsible gaming programming, but we focus on responsible gaming all year long. We want to lead from the front and keep responsible gaming as a critical aspect of our business and expansion plans. We have more than 100 full-time Compliance & RG professionals focused on responsible gaming daily across legal, tech, marketing, product development, government affairs, and data/analytics. We are extremely proud of our first dedicated responsible gambling TV commercial that is now on-air to educate and promote safer play. Every day we are working with regulators and industry partners, like the AGA, to build a sustainable framework for the industry that protects customers. Finally, we continue to partner with important organizations like the National Council on Problem Gambling to provide support for their programs.

On new initiatives: At FanDuel we take Responsible Gaming seriously. This month, FanDuel launched a new responsible gaming advertising campaign built by FanDuel’s internal creative team and produced in partnership with Boomshot. The new multi-media campaign titled “The System” will be highlighted by a signature television spot that will continue throughout the year, backed by a significant media investment. In the TV spot, a friend seeks the inside scoop on a winning betting system. Rather than “road dogs” or “bird mascots,” he learns the winning system is the one that keeps sports betting fun – using FanDuel’s responsible gaming tools, like setting deposit, wager, and time limits. The commercial’s goal is to drive awareness and usage of FanDuel’s responsible gaming tools.
We are also working with FanDuel’s Responsible Gaming Ambassador and sports media personality, Craig Carton. A responsible gaming advocate who hosts the Carton and Roberts Show and Hello My Name is Craig on WFAN in New York, Carton connects with FanDuel employees and FanDuel customers about his personal experiences with gambling and how his experiences can help others in managing their play. Carton works with our leadership team to shape and amplify the company’s responsible gaming initiatives and is working with various FanDuel departments on the role an operator could play in spotting play patterns that could require a customer to seek responsible gaming resources. Carton also filmed a variety of responsible gaming content that is starting to air on our various social media channels.

On a recent surprise: It may not be a surprise, but we have been enlightened on a few things by working with our new Responsible Gaming Ambassador – Craig Carton. I come from the alcohol industry where intervention has become socially acceptable. One of the things that we learned from Craig is the need to change the stigma of gambling addiction. If we can humanize those with a problem, it will go a long way. One of the ways to advance is to remove the term “degenerate gambler” from our vernacular.

On the NCAA Tournaments: The volume over the first four tournament days of March Madness was twice the size of the Super Bowl.

On the sport with the most wagering growth: Golf is a growth sport for FanDuel.

PROGRAMMING

CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ coverage continues with the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Saturday on TBS. The companies announced that Villanova/Kansas would open the day, tipping off at 6:09p, followed by North Carolina/Duke. Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery will call the games with reporter Tracy Wolfson for the seventh consecutive tournament. Saturday’s live, on-site pregame coverage on TBS will begin with At the Final Four presented by Nissan at 3p, followed by The Final Four Show from 4-6p in New Orleans.

After Formula 1 drivers threatened to boycott the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix following a missile attack on a nearby oil depot, the drivers “made clear that they want to revisit the topic of Formula One’s presence in Saudi Arabia,” according to ESPN. In a series of meetings that lasted more than four hours, F1 executives, team bosses and Saudi Arabian officials attempted to reassure drivers of the safety of the event, before ruling at 2:30a Saturday to move forward.

LG Electronics announced the debut of LG Presents: The Rivalries, a docu-series that highlights college sports’ “lesser-known but no less exciting rivalries from the NCAA’s Division II and Division III programs.” The new series is available exclusively on the NCAA Championships Channel via LG Channels. Each episode will highlight a different sports rivalry as told through interviews, historical footage, and the most recent game footage.

ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship is underway, with this year’s action leading to TD Garden in Boston for the Men’s Frozen Four on April 7. Games will air across ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS, with every matchup available on the ESPN App. Tournament play will culminate with the National Championship game live on April 9 at 8p on ESPN2. John Buccigross, Barry Melrose and Colby Cohen will call the Frozen Four and Championship.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Vanessa Bryant, widow of the late Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, struck a deal with Nike to continue their relationship. Shoes honoring the late Bryant and his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant will be available with 100% of the proceeds from Gigi’s shoes reportedly being donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, the nonprofit charitable foundation that in 2020 was renamed to honor Gianna. Nike will also partner with Vanessa Bryant to develop “a youth basketball center in Southern California that will share the Mamba Mentality with youth athletes for generations to come,” she said.

QatarEnergy was named a FIFA Partner, joining the line-up of companies backing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. “QatarEnergy is joining FIFA in this important FIFA World Cup year, and we are delighted to welcome them, as they share our excitement and enthusiasm for this first FIFA World Cup organized in the Arab world,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “This year’s tournament will expand football’s reach and shine a light on the region, bringing different cultures from across the globe together in Qatar to enjoy the best football in the world in stunning state-of-the-art venues.”

World Rugby welcomed a new partnership that makes Capgemini become a Global Partner of Women in Rugby and a Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cups 2021 and 2025. The five-year agreement is an expansion of Capgemini’s existing partnership with World Rugby and will see the brand champion the ‘Leadership’ pillar of World Rugby’s ‘Accelerating the Global Development of Women in Rugby 2017-25‘ strategic plan.

The Vegas Golden Knights locked in a multi-year partnership agreement with Hilton Hotels & Resorts. As an official partner of the Golden Knights, Hilton will receive a variety of in-game signage, both virtual and static, as well as the ability to promote the Hilton brand through various digital elements, including team arrival photos.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

SailGP and NEAR, a carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain development platform, announced a multi-year groundbreaking partnership. As part of the partnership, SailGP will explore the sale of a new team to a DAO launched on the NEAR Protocol to enable fans and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to “engage and access their favorite teams, athletes and events like never before.” The DAO community members may determine athlete selection, team management, commercialization options, operations and team strategy.

PokerStars and Oracle Red Bull Racing opened the door to the ‘Red Spade Pass’. Available exclusively to PokerStars players, Red Spade Pass winners will get exclusive access to the F1 fan experience, including rewards and experiences curated by PokerStars and the Oracle Red Bull Racing team for the PokerStars community. “The partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing has entertainment at the heart of it, supporting our vision of giving our community epic moments they’ll never forget,” said PokerStars Group Marketing Director Tom Warren.

FanDuel Group announced the launch of FanDuel Faceoff, a casual game experience in partnership with Game Taco, a skill-based game platform company. FanDuel Faceoff will offer customers the opportunity to play casual games against one another for fun and the chance to win cash and other prizes. At launch, FanDuel Faceoff will be available in 32 states in the U.S. FanDuel Faceoff features four Game Taco titles for launch: Grand Slam Superstar, Wheel of Fortune, King’s Crossing, and Block Trail.

The National Football League and StatusPRO entered into a partnership to bring an NFL-licensed virtual reality simulation gaming title to fans globally. Available on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR, allowing fans to play like a professional football player through a first-person 3D immersive experience. “Virtual reality gaming is rapidly expanding and our partnership with StatusPRO allows us to explore a new immersive version of NFL gaming with support of the two largest VR platforms within this emerging space,” said Joe Ruggiero, SVP, Consumer Products at the NFL. “We are seeing a growing number of fans engaging with VR and we’re excited to launch the first-ever VR gaming title that complements our existing offerings in the market today.”

ESPORTS

Comscore is launching new monthly Gaming Esports Team Rankers, designed to showcase how the top esports teams are performing on social media in the U.S. and globally. According to the announcement, marketers can see the size of the teams’ audiences, number of shares, and actions across social, noting that “Knowing the exact reach and engagement of esports teams on social media can provide a significant boost to planning and improving gaming-related media.”

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

FuboTV announced two new appointments, naming Henry Ahn, formerly President of Content Distribution and Partnerships for Univision Communications Inc as Chief Business Officer. Meanwhile, Julie Haddon, an owner of NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars and a former NFL executive, has been appointed to the Board of Directors.

Pemberton announced that 20-year agency veteran, Joe Flores has joined the company in the role of Executive Vice President, Chief Growth Officer. Flores has worked with agencies such as Endeavor (WME | IMG), Taylor, MikeWorldWide and BMLPR.

2022 SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS

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Arda Ocal, Host, ESPN

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ON THIS DAY in
1990: Michael Jordan scored 69 points.

IN THE KNOW
Ideally, competitive ski jumpers should land in what position to avoid a deduction from the judges? (Note: I will not accept “upright”). (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Pro wrestler Lenny Montana, aka the Zebra Kid, played what character in The Godfather? Answer: Luca Brasi. Kudos: Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Rob Casalaina-ITN/NY; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Greg Moloznik-GLM Media/Sarasota; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Kyle Krebs-CBS 42/Birmingham; Jason Brist-Outdoor Sportsman Group/Chicago; Robert Twilley-Streetcar Entertainment/Knoxville; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo

Cynopsis Team