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BetMGM just handed its entire marketing operation to one shop.
CAPE, the independent creative agency behind the operator’s new football season campaign, was named BetMGM’s full agency of record this year, expanding a relationship that started in 2024 with a single responsible gambling spot. Now it runs the account.
The campaign that comes with the new title is called “It Happens Here.” It’s built around Jon Hamm, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, playing host to a fictional world CAPE describes as part casino floor, part exclusive club, built to be reused all season rather than reinvented with every new spot.
“As we enter the most exciting time of year for our players, we wanted to create a campaign that feels distinctly BetMGM while tapping into MGM Resorts’ entertainment legacy,” said Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s chief revenue officer. “With Jon’s magnetic charm and CAPE’s creative vision, ‘It Happens Here’ ties together the breadth of experiences we offer in a way that’s unmistakably BetMGM.”
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From online sports betting to the whole BetMGM account
Here’s the part that matters more than the casting. An agency of record deal isn’t one campaign, it’s a standing relationship where one shop plans, produces and runs a brand’s marketing across the board.
CAPE built its version of that around a reusable setting, the Legends Lounge, specifically so the agency can keep returning to the same world instead of starting from zero each time BetMGM needs new creative.
CAPE’s prior work with BetMGM includes:
- “Mullet Over,” a responsible gambling campaign fronted by NHL star Connor McDavid
- “Lucky Doe” for BetMGM’s New Jersey sister brand Borgata Online, a spot the companies have called the highest-performing ad in Borgata’s history.
Those were assignments. This is the whole account.
Four new spots make up the current wave, running across television, social, digital, out-of-home and BetMGM’s own platforms through the season. The first, “Raise the Stakes,” debuted Saturday, Aug. 29, introducing the Legends Lounge to viewers for the first time.
Casey Ritts, CAPE’s co-founder and chief executive, said the campaign brings together everything that makes BetMGM distinctive: sports, entertainment, online casino and, in his words, a bit of fun.
“The Legends Lounge gives us a rich new world for the brand to play in, and Jon Hamm brings exactly the wit and personality that felt right for this campaign,” Ritts said. “We’re excited to expand our partnership with BetMGM and build ideas that can become lasting expressions of the brand.”
What this means for BetMGM’s national footprint
BetMGM operates online sports betting and online casino in what the company describes as 31 markets combined between mobile and retail.
Responsible gambling stays part of the pitch too. BetMGM licenses GameSense, a program developed by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, across its mobile and desktop platforms.
An agency of record deal is a bet on continuity. CAPE just told BetMGM it’s building something the brand can keep using long after football season ends.
