Various forms of gambling activities in Canada and across the globe are now more socially accepted than ever, and the world of buying, holding, selling, and using legitimate cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services online is also now more common than ever.
The two go hand in hand, and when you add celebrities into the fold to endorse today’s best iGaming sites, you can see why crypto gambling has really taken off and is now more mainstream in 2024 than in any other year.
Let’s dive straight in to discover the many different types of celebrities that are helping to change the face of crypto gambling forever and how today’s most trusted Canadian iGaming operators use the services of a wide range of celebrities to further their cause.
What kind of celebrities are used to promote iGaming sites, and how are these celebrities helping to legitimise crypto-accepting iGaming sites?
A wide range of celebrities are used by iGaming operators today to promote their products and services in specific markets. It’s a clever marketing strategy, especially when the right kind of celebrities are chosen to be the face of certain businesses.
People can relate more to celebrities than to businesses, and just like influencers are relied upon by the biggest brands and marketing agencies in the world to plug certain products, celebrities are used in pretty much the same way in the iGaming industry.
The main types of celebrities often used by online casino operators, showing them playing live casino games like live dealer roulette, are the following:
- Sports stars – from a variety of major professional sports disciplines, including soccer/football, ice hockey, basketball, cricket, tennis, golf, rugby, F1 motor racing, and many other world-class athletes from Olympic/Commonwealth sporting events
- Actors – from famous television shows and blockbuster movies that we often see at the cinema or on streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime
- Social media influencers/sensations – especially pro eSports gamers from leading platforms like Twitch and YouTube
- Singers and musicians – many famous bands, singers, and musicians from past and present have been known to promote iGaming sites
- High-society/well-connected celebrities/heiresses and other famous media personalities – Paris Hilton is just one such example who has promoted numerous iGaming sites at some point throughout her career
Celebrity faces/personalities are often carefully selected to represent today’s biggest companies to increase brand recognition and promote widespread publicity for their products and services.
Much of the selection process when choosing which celebrity will represent their business comes down to how famous that person is at the time of their marketing campaign, what kind of perception the public has of that celebrity, which industry that celebrity is involved with, and how trustworthy and likeable the person is.
Getting the right kind of celebrity at the perfect time can massively help drive traffic to that business, leading to more conversions and increased revenue.
However, most celebrities don’t come cheap, which is why not all iGaming operators use them. Also, depending on where you are in the world depends on which celebrities you will see advertising companies.
For example, the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is known for promoting iGaming brands in India, but he might not be used in other parts of the world to promote that same business where cricket isn’t as popular. In other regions, that same business is likely to use another famous celebrity who resonates more with the people in that particular market.
Which celebrities have been used to promote iGaming brands?
Many celebrities from a range of industries have been used to promote iGaming brands, such as online casinos, sports betting sites (aka online bookmakers or sportsbooks), bingo & lottery sites, and dedicated poker sites.
Take the official 10bet website, for example. Back in 2019, the company hired the services of Didier Drogba as the company’s Global Brand Ambassador on a two-year partnership deal.
The former international professional soccer star played internationally for his country, the West African nation Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and spent eight years in the English Premier League playing for London side Chelsea FC.
He spent his later years in the MLS playing for Montreal Impact (2015/16) and for Phoenix Rising (201718) and became a household name for his incredible abilities on the pitch during his twilight years and his likeable personality off the pitch.
The aim of hiring Drogba was to help promote the 10bet brand in Asia and the United Kingdom, which saw him making several special appearances at many major live events.
Other famous celebrities that have endorsed iGaming brands (some of whom have sadly passed away in recent years) are Paris Hilton, Drake, Chris Rock, Verne Troye, Shane Warne, Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson, Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Charlie Sheen, Ben Affleck, Neymar Jr., Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Conor McGregor, to name a few.
Final thoughts
As celebrities with unblemished track records become more influential with their ever-increasing star power, as cryptocurrencies become more widely adopted and legitimised, and as iGaming sites like 10bet become more mainstream in the social conscience, the image of the online gambling industry in Canada and across the globe is forever transformed.
Thanks to celebrities, crypto casino games and today’s most trusted iGaming platforms will continue to become more popular than ever with each new year that passes, and we are likely to see even more brands using celebrities to promote their brands.
