The pace of industry announcements has been noticeably picking up with the April 4 Ontario sports betting launch date fast approaching, so here’s a wrap-up of some news so far this week.
One of the groups that has been steady in its support and preparation for legal sports betting in Canada has been theScore Bet Ontario, so it’s no surprise it got an early jump on its launch marketing campaign ahead of the debut of its mobile sportsbook and casino app.
Now, we love Entourage, so we’re happy to see “Lloyd” himself, actor Rex Lee, as part of the campaign, along with comedian Susie Essman and Toronto’s Gerry Dee, an alumni of theScore TV.
There’s a great two-and-a half-minute video featuring the three spokespeople. It’s hilarious.
The campaign, called “Get Into Bet Mode”, includes 30-, 15- and six-second spots, a series of social ads, radio, digital and out-of-home assets, plus the video. There are 16 registered companies so far: Unibet, 888, OLG PROLINE+, BetMGM, Coolbet, LeoVegas, BetRivers, bet365, Fitzdares, FanDuel Ontario, Rivalry, Royal Panda, theScore Bet, World Series of Poker, LottoGo, and PointsBet Canada (with more coming up to April 4).
theScore Bet Starts Pre-Registration
Earlier in the week, theScore Bet announced it had begun pre-registration ahead of the April 4 launch.
TheScore Bet received license approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario in early February.
“Millions of Ontarians already know and love theScore, and we are excited to introduce them to theScore Bet as part of our pre-registration roll out,” CEO John Levy said in a news release announcing the pre-registration. “We are ready and eager for the legal market to open on April 4 and look forward to showcasing our fully integrated media and betting experience.”
Rivalry Launches Mobile Esports Betting
One of those regulated sports betting operators is Rivalry Corp. This week it got the jump on Esports — adding mobile esports to its sportbook.
Its titles currently include Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends Wild Rift, Call of Duty Mobile, and PUBG Mobile and Free Fire.
So Rivalry is taking dead aim at the Gen Z and younger Millennial demographic.
“Mobile gaming is soaring in popularity around the world, and we believe mobile esports titles will be among the most played, viewed, and bet on within the coming years,” Steven Salz, co-founder and CEO of Rivalry, said in a statement. “Not everyone has a desktop computer capable of playing top games, or a console at home, but nearly everyone now has a mobile phone. This makes the global ecosystem for mobile gaming incredibly deep and exciting. We think the future is massive for this platform.”
According to stats there are more than 2.2 billion active mobile gamers worldwide, with predictions that half the world’s population will be playing mobile games by 2025. The Free Fire mobile game last year saw a peak of 150 million daily active players.
