Although land-based casinos are a well-established form of entertainment in the US, regulated sportsbooks are a relatively new phenomenon, and attracting new customers is a major priority.

Speaking to the Knupp Sports Show, Rob Shannon of RPM Advertising emphasised the need for casino operators to educate their existing table game and slot customers about sports betting opportunities, whilst also leveraging localised marketing techniques, such as forming partnerships with popular regional sports teams.

“There’s a lot of crossover from tables to sports betting, but how do we grab that slot player?” he began: “We try to localise. It’s smart when I see sportsbooks doing local promotions.”

Referring to sports betting marketing in the Chicago area, he added: “We’ve got PointsBet here at Hawthorne Racecourse just outside of Midway Airport, and they’ve got Devin Hester on as their spokesperson, and they do a lot of Bears promotions and Bulls promotions. They have a passionate fanbase, and there are passionate fan bases everywhere.

“Promotions can be tied in. You can make it your sportsbook or your casino no matter whose brand is on there. We’ve seen that a lot with FanDuel – they’re all over there on any number of random casinos that you’ve never heard of, but you still want to talk to the players to potential players saying ‘this is your sportsbook, we have things just for you’.

Staying on the topic of sports betting in Illinois, Shannon shared his view that ‘it’s been going great’ in the state, as more and more casinos begin to embrace sportsbook activities and strike deals with sports betting providers.

He remarked: “I think it’s been going great. The big thing was that they were going to require in-person registration because I think there’s nine casinos in the state of Illinois, and if you live in Springfield in the centre of the state, you’ve got to drive two hours to register – that’s crazy.

“One thing that came out of the pandemic last year is that when they eased the restrictions it boomed. I think BetRivers were the first one to do it (introducing sportsbooks at a casino) and then DraftKings with Casino Queen and PointsBet at Hawthorne.”

Source – Sports 2.0 Network YouTube Channel