Philadelphia legend Allen Iverson joined fellow 76er Charles Barkley as a sports betting spokesperson.
“The Answer”, as he was known during his Hall of Fame NBA career, is the spokesperson for a new Australia-based sportsbook is announcing their entry into the U.S. market, PointsBet.
“We’re over-the-moon to work with an athlete of Allen’s caliber – when people think of AI, they think of a renegade and cultural phenomenon that was known for his flash and style on and off the court. For those reasons, we saw the partnership with Al as a perfect fit to represent the PointsBet brand,” PointsBet U.S. CEO Johnny Aitken said in a press release. “Our forthcoming commercials show that Allen is ‘The Answer’ for more than just basketball.”
Iverson’s first big campaign promoted $1 million contest
Earlier this month, PointsBet kicked off their presence in the U.S. market with a free $1 Million NBA Sweepstakes. The contest was intended to run from Oct. 8 to Oct. 16 for residents of the Keystone State and New Jersey. However, at the time of publishing, the contest was still open.
The contest requires that bettors choose the top-eight seeds in the NBA Western and Eastern conferences.
According to the contest rules, you’ll win the $1 million if you correctly pick the eight playoff teams and their seeds in each conference. If there are multiple winners, those winners split the prize.
Here’s the tweet in which Iverson promotes the $1 million sweepstakes:
When NBA Hall of Famer @AllenIverson tells you to “give ’em more”, you listen. Pick the top 8 seeds in the Eastern & Western Conferences in the correct order 1 through 8 to win a share of $1 million! Enter here: https://t.co/W8LWDnHCg0 T+C’s apply. pic.twitter.com/fD4oU2YOQ0
— PointsBet (@PointsBet_AU) October 12, 2018
“If you’re looking for an emerging, high-tech brand that knows what it’s doing and is cool, don’t sleep on PointsBet. These guys just get it,” Iverson said in PointsBet’s press release.
Iverson is the second 76ers to ink a sportsbook marketing deal
Earlier this year, DraftKings announced Charles Barkley would lead the ad campaign the company launched after the genesis of DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey.
Both former Philly athletes had a reputation for skilled — and brash — behavior on and off the court. And, in this sense, that sense of swagger is the perfect fit for important ad campaigns signaling the launch of the new era of sports betting in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Sports betting starting slowly in PA
There are still no live sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, as the state’s 13 casino licensees were in no hurry to petition for sports betting licenses.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the state’s first two sports betting licenses at the beginning of the month. Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse and Parx Casino and their off-track betting parlor the South Philadelphia Turf Club were the recipients of licenses.
Photo by miqu77 / Shutterstock.com
