BetMGM has hired Rocket marketer Casey Hurbis as chief marketing officer, as the 6-year-old gaming and sports betting brand tries to gain ground on industry giants FanDuel and DraftKings. 

Hurbis served as CMO for Rocket Mortgage from 2017 until March of this year, when he became senior VP of brand experiences and strategic partnerships. The Detroit resident previously held multiple marketing roles at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now known as Stellantis.

Hurbis becomes BetMGM’s first CMO since 2020, when Matt Prevost transitioned from that role to chief revenue officer. Hurbis will report to Prevost.

“Building BetMGM from the ground up into one of the most recognizable brands in the sports betting and iGaming sphere has been an incredible accomplishment made possible by the tireless efforts of our amazing team,” Prevost said in a statement. “Bringing a visionary leader like Casey Hurbis on board adds another impactful advantage for our brand.”

At BetMGM, Hurbis will be reunited with Highdive, which became the brand’s creative agency of record in 2023. Hurbis worked with the Chicago-based agency on multiple Super Bowl ads while running marketing for Rocket Mortgage, including two that topped USA Today’s Ad Meter. 

Hurbis, however, won’t get a Big Game marketing opportunity this season—a BetMGM spokesperson confirmed the brand won’t be running a 2025 Super Bowl ad. The brand made its Super Bowl debut earlier this year with a spot starring Tom Brady, Vince Vaughn and Wayne Gretzky. It made that investment in part because the game was held in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of America.

BetMGM’s most consistent celebrity endorser has been Jamie Foxx, who has appeared in multiple ads, including a campaign that debuted in September at the beginning of the football season.

Highdive stopped working with Rocket in the wake of new marketing leadership at the Detroit-based company. Jonathan Mildenhall became the company’s first group-level CMO in January, overseeing brands including Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Homes. He later hired Mirimar as its creative agency of record and then brought on Publicis Groupe to handle media. 

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New Jersey-based BetMGM is among a group of betting marketers seeking to chip away at the dominance of FanDuel and DraftKings in the sports betting market, which has drawn a host of players since the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on sports betting in 2018. Thirty-eight states, along with Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, currently offer legal sports betting.

Hurbis, who will remain in Detroit, in a statement said: “BetMGM is a brand with incredible momentum, backed by a team that is redefining how we engage and entertain audiences. I look forward to pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation to not only attract new audiences but enhance the experience for our loyal players to even greater heights.”

BetMGM was founded in 2018 as a joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts International. As part of a half-year update in July, BetMGM reported that it had 13% market share across the U.S. and Canada in the sports betting and iGaming market. (iGaming refers to various forms of online betting.)  BetMGM reported net revenue from operations of $1 billion for the year’s first half, but a loss of $123 million.

BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt in a statement at the time referred to 2024 as a “year of investment, focusing on improving our customer experience and stepping up our level of investment in players.”

That investment has included the development of so-called single digital wallet functionality that allows betters to use a single account and cash balance and login credentials accessible in all states where BetMGM is available. It currently operates in 29 markets.