Sports Betting App Wars Heat Up in Fight Over Las Vegas Money

Seven companies are competing for your money

By Toni Gonzales | Las Vegas, NV | MGM and Wynn

Cue announcer voice. In this corner, standing at 5’9” tall and is as fire behind the mic as he is in front of the camera. He’s won one Oscar and a grammy. It’s former Las Vegas resident Jamie Foxx. And in this corner are two ballers in their own right. Standing at 6’4” he’s a winner of two Oscars and Jennifer Lopez’s heart. Hailing from Boston it’s Hollywood actor/director Ben Affleck. Standing next to him at a towering 7’1”is four time NBA winning champ Shaquille O’Neal.

No, this isn’t the opening announcement for the next big boxing match in Vegas, though hundreds of thousands of bets will be made on it. Jamie Foxx, Ben Affleck and Shaq are the latest heavy hitters in the Vegas sports betting wars. New campaigns have just dropped for BetMGM with Jamie Fox, and for WynnBet with Affleck and Shaq.


BetMGM and WynnBet are two of the NFL’s seven preferred operators alongside PointsBet, Fox Bet, DraftKings Inc., Caesars Entertainment and FanDuel. Each NFL broadcast will allow for six-sports betting ads. However, DraftKings, Caesars and FanDuel enjoy the added benefit of using the NFL logo and the ability to use game highlights. The deal with just those three is worth $1-billion dollars. Speculating that could be a reason both BetMGM and WynnBet needed the help of the heavyweights.

BetMGM has a standard commercial featuring Foxx pushing the app for all your sports wagering. WynnBet took it a bit further with a splashy ad and is expected to spend $100 million on the campaign throughout the season. The new TV ad is directed by Ben Affleck and also stars him alongside fellow Wynn brand ambassador Shaq and Melvin Gregg.

A two-minute and 21 second extended version shows Affleck breezing through the Wynn mucking it up with various sports handicappers while getting inside information on various teams. “Miami is terrible,” says Ben in the ad before realizing Shaq is standing behind him. There is even a cameo of Jennifer Lopez’s mother Guadalupe who is playing the slots. 


It’s no wonder sports betting apps are putting a lot of money and resources into earning your business. Sports betting is a gigantic source of revenue. One gambling site, PlayUSA estimates that legal wagers for college and pro football could bring in $20 billion this season alone. That’s a lot of dough, even for Las Vegas. 

College football season is underway now and regular season for the NFL starts Thursday, September 9. 

Read The Evolution of Las Vegas Sports Teams

CLICK to follow us on Google News and never miss a story!


You might also be interested in...

CASA Day Raises Awareness of Nevada Child Welfare System Challenges

Nevada’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) need more volunteers

Read More

‘Wild Beauty’ Documentary Explores Controversial Wild Horse Issues

A special screening of ‘Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West’ takes place on Wednesday, March 15 at South Point

Read More

Vegas Punk Rock Museum Ready to Shove Things In Your Face

The Punk Collective is building out the museum with a performance space, a merch store, wedding/wake chapel, a tattoo parlor and a bar

Read More

AFAN Black and White Party Returns for its 36th Year

Fundraising for a good cause has never been this fabulous

Read More

World Alzheimer’s Day: What Nevadans Should Know

Dr. Dylan Wint, director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, emphasizes the significance of the connections between neurology and psychiatry when treating Alzheimer’s disease

Read More

What did you think?