Troy Paul of SGG Media, on why streamers and influencer amplification are fast becoming the cornerstone of media activation for sportsbook and casino brands

Amplification is crucial to getting the most out of marketing activity and spend, but it’s something that very few online sportsbook brands are doing, let alone getting right.

Amplification means taking marketing campaigns and materials and “amplifying” them through targeted influencers that get the messaging in front of even more people.

Let me explain by way of example.

An operator will pay an athlete millions of dollars a year to create social posts about its sportsbook and offering, including new bonuses and Sunday Football Picks.

Let’s say the athlete is making a post on Monday that says he loves the Kansas City Chiefs in that week’s game and that DraftKings is offering a boost to all players who tail his bet slip.

This post will generate a decent number of impressions and clicks, but this can be “amplified” by having the top Kansas City Chiefs fan accounts retweet it on X or create an Insta story around it.

These influencers will then say things like “I love this play” or “KC fans, don’t miss out!”, boosting the message to more people and ultimately driving engagement and interaction.

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In many cases, we have taken posts that will generate around 50,000 impressions and through our network of influencers, make that post go viral with 10x-20x engagement and reach.

Sportsbooks spend millions on their celebrity partnerships and brand ambassadors, but for a few thousand dollars, amplification can turbo-charge engagement with that content and transform KPIs.

And it’s not just sportsbooks that can benefit from this – so too can online casinos, casinos, racetracks and tribal casinos and sportsbooks.

Mastering the art of amplification

The channels through which amplification is the most effective are evolving with live streaming very much king these days.

The audiences behind popular sports and casino live streams are extremely loyal, and those who can lead an audience through an entertaining stream are becoming instrumental to operator growth.

Streamers are the new celebrities and the space as a whole has tons of latent potential to explore and growth to unlock, especially in terms of a media play.

In terms of how it works relating to amplification, let’s take a Tuesday NBA team in a mid-level market as an example. Most NBA fans don’t even know the game is on, let alone where to watch it.

If a popular streamer had the necessary media access to live stream the game, his loyal audience would tune in to watch the stream regardless and then in turn be introduced to the NBA.

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Streamers ultimately create a community around the content they are watching, and this can directly translate to a growing audience around a sport, team, player or, of course, a betting brand.

Sportsbook and casino brands need to get in on the amplification action

This is why sportsbook and casino brands need to sign with streamers early and use them to support marketing campaigns and growth initiatives.

For me, developing a product around a streamer’s audience will prove to be an immensely important aspect for growing brand equity and boosting engagement in the months and years ahead.

For example, a client of ours recently created a 1SC promo link for the first 5,000 users to log into their account through the link. The stream reached the 5,000-user cap in 24 hours.

This means 5,000 unique accounts logged into and/or wagered through the social casino account in the 24-hour period, which is an insane metric.

This stands as a perfect example of how an operator can build out a campaign targeted at streaming, and how amplification through streaming resulted in success.

There are tons of opportunities to explore

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Of course, this is just one example and there are loads of opportunities for both operators and content creators to get into.

Streamers that can leverage platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok to create a loyal audience that shows up daily for their content will be in an excellent position to monetise through partnerships.

The operators that recognise this trend early, and we are still in the early days of streaming and amplification, will get ahead of the curve in the ever-changing landscape of media activation.

But where there are opportunities there are also challenges and streaming is no different. The big one here is that no post-editing can be done as everything is broadcast in real-time.

This makes it imperative that streaming hosts are well versed in the sportsbook/casino’s brand guidelines and the compliance and responsible gambling elements that come along with it.

Influencer amplification is the cornerstone of media activation

With influencer amplification, brands don’t need to spend millions of dollars with Google AdSense or Meta ads to target fans – even though this is what’s been done up until this point.

With streaming and general influencer amplification, campaigns can be delivered directly to fans that genuinely care about the content.

What’s more, this can be done for pennies on the dollar of what traditional media would cost, and with a much better return.

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In short, online and land-based gambling brands can get more bang for their buck.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has served BetMGM Canada Inc. with an Order of Monetary Penalty (OMP) of $110,000 for violations of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

In two separate incidents in 2024, BetMGM engaged marketing companies who offered cash to members of the public in return for opening new BetMGM accounts. The marketing activities occurred in public forums, such as a major national trade conference. Under AGCO’s Standards, operators are responsible for the conduct of their third-party suppliers who are contracted to support the operator’s Ontario gaming business, and must require their third-parties to meet Ontario laws, regulations and standards (Standard 1.19).

Ontario is one of the first jurisdictions in the world to establish and enforce rules that strictly limit high-risk inducement advertising and marketing in the online gambling industry. Registered iGaming operators are prohibited from offering gambling inducements, bonuses and credits as part of their broad public advertising and marketing activities (Standard 2.05). These Standards exist to protect Ontarians from predatory advertising and promotional marketing practices in order to limit the risk of gambling-related harm.

A registered operator served with an OMP by the AGCO has the right to appeal the Registrar’s decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), which is an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.

QUOTE

“Responsible gambling safeguards and the protection of Ontarians on registered gaming sites is among our key priorities. The AGCO monitors the activities of all registered operators and their third-party suppliers to ensure they are meeting our high standards and we continue to take strong action to ensure they operate within the public interest.”

Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar – AGCO

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

BetMGM Canada Inc. failed to comply with the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. Specifically, the licensee failed to comply with the following provisions of the Standards:

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• 1.19 Operators are responsible for the actions of third parties with whom they contract for the provision of any aspect of the Operator’s business related to gaming in Ontario and must require the third party to conduct themselves in so far as they carry out activities on behalf of the operator as if they were bound by the same laws, regulations, and standards.
• 2.05 Advertising and marketing materials that communicate gambling inducements, bonuses and credits are prohibited, except on an operator’s gaming site and through direct advertising and marketing, after receiving active player consent.

Contrary to the Standards, BetMGM Canada Inc. and/or their affiliates allegedly engaged in the following activities:

Casino stocks are taking a beating, and investors are paying attention. Over the past three months, shares of major gaming companies have plunged, with some losing nearly a third of their value.

It’s a sharp reversal from the post-pandemic boom, raising questions about what’s happening. Are consumers pulling back? Is Las Vegas losing its luster? Or is this an early warning sign of something bigger, like a possible U.S. recession?

The Numbers: Casino Stocks Down Double Digits

If you’ve been following the markets, you’ve seen the red ink spreading across the gaming sector. Since the start of the year, stocks of America’s biggest casino operators have fallen across the board:

Caesars Entertainment (-33.46%) and Las Vegas Sands (-23.35%) are leading the decline, but it’s not just them. MGM is down nearly 18%, and even Wynn Resorts, which fared the best, lost 4.44%.

What’s Behind the Drop?

It’s not one thing – it’s a cocktail of economic pressures, policy shifts, and changing consumer habits that are hitting casinos where it hurts.

1. Americans Are Watching Their Wallets

When the economy tightens, luxury spending is often the first thing to go. Casino visits aren’t a necessity, and early signs suggest that discretionary spending is starting to slow. Inflation has been eating into real wages, interest rates remain high, and household debt levels are creeping up. If consumers are feeling the squeeze, gambling revenues are one of the first places you’ll see it reflected.

2. Las Vegas Tourism Isn’t Bouncing Back Like Before

Las Vegas thrived in the post-pandemic reopening boom, but that momentum might be fading. Canadian tourists, who are a key demographic for Vegas, are visiting less due to the strong U.S. dollar and a weaker Canadian economy. Meanwhile, high-end Chinese tourism, which casinos rely on for their biggest spenders, is still struggling. Economic uncertainty and stricter money transfer rules in China have kept many of those gamblers at home.

3. Trade Policies and Global Uncertainty

The Trump administration’s renewed trade disputes with China and Canada aren’t helping either. Retaliatory tariffs could slow economic activity and dampen consumer confidence. If the broader economy starts to weaken, luxury sectors like casinos could take a bigger hit.

“Don’t blame it all on Trump’s erratic trade policies. They play a role, but there’s a bigger picture at play. China’s slowing down, the post-pandemic boom is receding, and the market is beginning to wrangle with serious questions about debt, the deficit, and a slowdown in government spending” – James from Nowagercasinos.com

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4. Why Caesars and Las Vegas Sands Are Taking the Worst Hits

Not all casino stocks are created equal. Caesars Entertainment’s heavy reliance on the U.S. market, especially Las Vegas, makes it more vulnerable to domestic slowdowns. Add in its $12 billion debt load, and you have a recipe for investor nervousness. Rising interest rates make refinancing more expensive, and if revenue slows, Caesars could be in a tough spot.

Las Vegas Sands, on the other hand, has no U.S. casino presence anymore – it bet everything on Asia. That means its stock is almost entirely tied to Macao and Singapore. If China’s economy slows or travel restrictions tighten, it feels the pain immediately. That’s likely why its shares have been hit so much harder than Wynn’s, which still has a mix of U.S. and international operations.

Recession Warning or Just an Industry Correction?

So, what does this all mean? Is the casino sector flashing a warning sign for the broader economy? Maybe, but it’s not a slam-dunk case for a full-blown recession.

Gaming stocks are highly sensitive to sentiment. Investors could simply be rotating out of high-risk, consumer discretionary stocks due to interest rate worries. That’s happened before, without an actual recession following.

That said, if casino revenues start declining sharply in upcoming earnings reports, that could indicate a real consumer pullback. And if that’s happening at the same time as weak retail sales, rising unemployment, and slowing GDP growth, then we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.

For now, the sharp drop in casino stocks is worth watching, but it’s not necessarily time to hit the panic button. At least, not yet!