DraftKings is returning to the Super Bowl as competition in the sports betting landscape heats up.
The sports betting and fantasy platform will air one 30-second national commercial starring comedian Kevin Hart, who also starred in a September spot for DraftKings. Its internal team worked on the creative concept, and it is working with Hartbeat, Hart’s production company, to produce the spot.
This marks DraftKings’ third Big Game campaign. In the 2022 game, the sports betting and fantasy platform ran a commercial titled, “Fortune: Life’s a Gamble,” which introduced a new spokescharacter: the Goddess of Fortune, a leather-clad risk-taker who’s shown in the ad taking physical gambles from jumping out of a DraftKings-branded blimp to riding on the back of Evel Knievel’s motorcycle.
DraftKings’ return to the Super Bowl comes as newcomers are prepared to enter the marketplace, including a sports betting operation out of Fanatics, the sports memorabilia and collectibles company. But fledgling sports betting platforms have found it tough to find a foothold in the industry. MaximBet announced last week that it would shutter due to “macroeconomic conditions. FuboTV also announced in October that it would close its sportsbook due to a challenging economy.
DraftKing made its Super Bowl debut in 2021 when it aired two 15-second ads, both created in-house, which offered Super Bowl viewers the chance to bet for free on fourth-quarter action, such as who will score the last touchdown or whether there will be a 20-yard gain.
This also marks Hart’s second consecutive Super Bowl appearance. In 2022, Hart appeared in a spot for Sam’s Club, which features Hart shopping under the assumption that he’s receiving a VIP experience because of his celebrity, not knowing that he’s using a service available for all members via the Sam’s Club app—its Scan & Go checkout function.
Hartbeat is Hart’s newly formed production company through the merger of his Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, which he announced in April.
