Jamie Foxx to head BetMGM NJ ‘King of Sportsbooks’ Campaign

New Jersey has a new face of sports betting. Academy Award winning actor Jamie Foxx as the face of the latest advertising campaign for leading New Jersey online sportsbook BetMGM.

BetMGM NJ and the Oscar winner and star of cult NFL movie “on Any Given Sunday”, Jamie Foxx, are combining for “The King of Sportsbooks” advertising campaign in partnership with creative agency 72andSunny New York. The campaign’s highlight is a 60-second online and TV video ad that features Foxx gushing about the adrenaline rush of sports betting, as he dramatically walks on the water in the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas while sporting video clips are played in the shadow of the fountains’ sprays.

BetMGM excited to have a star like Foxx onboard

“Jamie is an exceptional talent and we’re proud to have him partner with us on our new campaign for BetMGM,” announced BetMGM’s Chief Marketing Officer Matt Prevost.
“The King of Sportsbooks campaign is the next step in the evolution of the BetMGM brand and Jamie brings a unique ability to tell our story in an incredibly creative and entertaining way. BetMGM exists at the intersection of sports and entertainment and Jamie fits this positioning perfectly; we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the BetMGM family.”

Jamie Foxx is an award-winning actor, singer (with a Grammy to accompany that Academy Award), and comedian. He recently won “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” at the NAACP Image Awards for his performance in ‘Just Mercy’ and additionally received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” in the same role. Foxx is currently starring the Netflix hit movie ‘Project Power’, which launched on August 14, and is one of a collection of starring voices in Disney/Pixar’s upcoming animated feature ‘Soul’ due for release on November 20.

About BetMGM

BetMGM began in New Jersey in 2018 when the GVC/MGM joint venture Roar Digital was initiated. In July 2019, the partners announced they would spend an additional $250 million on top of their original $200 million investment, in order to make themselves into major player in the overall US online sports betting market.

BetMGM currently operates online sports betting across 7 different states and has arrangements in place to potentially launch in 4 more states before the end of the year. Roll in a conditional sports betting license to operate in Tennessee for the Volunteer State’s official legal sports betting launch on November 1. With their arrangement with Foxx to promote the brand, BetMGM is showing their hand that they are looking to be around long term in the U.S. sports betting industry.

The BetMGM advancement has been swift but the brand still lags behind current US market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings, and in the exclusive New Jersey and Pennsylvania context, still trailing SugarHouse Sports.

Sports Betting Industry Celebrity Endorsements

Foxx’s entry reinforces the number of famous faces endorsing and online sportsbooks in the United States.

Leading NJ sportsbook PointsBet needs to be given credit for starting the trend. They began straight off the bat with former NBA All-Star guard Allen Iverson promoting the brand from their 2018 launch and have also added ex-New York Jets’ cornerback Darelle Revis to their promotion stable.

NBA legend Michael Jordan announced in early September he is taking up a stake in DraftKings Sportsbook in exchange for becoming a special adviser to the online sportsbook. However, as yet, no formal arrangement has been announced for his Airness to become involved in any DraftKings promotions.

Watch this space for more celebrities becoming involved in promoting online sports betting as it rolls out across the United States.