New Jersey casinos roll out marketing campaign for online gaming

Published December 23, 2013 at 9:44 am

If you’ve spent much time in New Jersey recently, you might have noticed a new sort of ad cropping up — a lot.

Online gambling is now legal in the state, and casinos and gaming companies are anxious to get the word out as quickly as possible. From traditional outlets, like radio ads, television commercials and billboard buys, to social outlets like in-mall marketing crews, these businesses are using every tool at their disposal to inform the public of this novel possibility.

That newness is a big part of why this campaign has been so comprehensive. Internet gambling has long existed in sort of a grey area in the American legal landscape, and as of April 15, 2011, no companies have been able to offer it to resident of the United States. Informing the public that not only is allowed again, but it is legally sanctioned, is a large undertaking for these casinos.

There’s also a compelling reason for these ads to be centralized to New Jersey: unless you are physically within the state, you won’t be able to gamble online. Thus, these companies are tasked with providing effective messaging, across several channels, that delivers the message across the entirety of a localized area. For many, this will require a large up-front expenditure that focuses directly on the Garden State.

“We will empty out our pockets in marketing dollars in 2014 and sort of judge things a year from now,” said Seth Palansky, a spokesman for Caesars casino in Atlantic City.

It will be interesting to watch this market develop: since it is not a product, but rather a new industry that is launching, it will definitely take some creativity to fully deliver the message.