Canadian sportsbook BET99 launched a new responsible gaming commercial starring MMA icon Georges St-Pierre.
Key Takeaways
- The new commercial is a continuation of a previous successful campaign featuring GSP.
- Ontario’s gaming regulator states celebrities and sports figures can only be in commercials promoting responsible gaming.
- BET99 said responsible gambling includes when users are thinking about how to wager.
Rules for gambling advertisements in Canada are stricter than those in the United States. Ontario, the country’s most developed gaming province, prohibits celebrities and sports figures from appearing in ads that aren’t focused on responsible wagering.
The new commercial shows St-Pierre in Karate Gi, or traditional karate garb, and highlights the tools that BET99 utilizes to help players gamble responsibly.
St-Pierre later changes into a shirt that says, “Gamble responsibly,” and he hangs up posters with the same message, all while mixing in the humor that made the first campaign so successful.
“Responsible gambling is too important to be treated like a legal disclaimer,” said Binu Koshy, BET99’s creative director. “Our goal is to make the message part of our brand world, not something buried in the fine print. The humor helps us connect, but the continuity is what makes it stick.”
BET99 also noted responsible gaming “isn’t a one-time message or a compliance box to check” but is part of an ongoing ambition to help keep customers safe.
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Theme of responsible gambling
The well-loved St-Pierre, a former a UFC welterweight and middleweight champion who held a professional MMA record of 26-2, wasn’t selected for the campaign on a whim. In his own words, his background in fighting aligns with the message being preached by BET99.
“I’ve built my career on discipline, focus, and control,” St-Pierre said. “The same principles we want players to bring to gaming.”
The commercial, which went live Tuesday, will run across digital, linear, and connected TV.
Additional components of the integrated campaign will highlight the message, “Gamble Responsibly,” on T-shirts, posters, and online content.
“We want to build a sustainable gaming culture in Canada,” said BET99 head of marketing Davin Bahuguna. “That means showing up not just when people are placing bets, but when they’re thinking about how and why they play. It’s easy to tell players to gamble responsibly, it’s harder to make them actually remember it.”
Keeping the market safe
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) rules regarding the use of popular figures in television commercials are part of its commitment to cultivating a safe gambling environment.
In October, the AGCO fined Score Media and Gaming Inc., known as “theScore,” $105,000 for allowing one customer to wager $2.5 million and lose $230,000 in eight months without interruption on its betting app.
Even with numerous safeguards, Ontario’s gaming market is growing rapidly. The regulator reported $3.2 billion CAD ($2.3 billion USD) in revenue during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, representing a 31% year-over-year increase.
