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ESPN, who licensed their company’s name to create ESPN BET in a deal with Penn Entertainment, launched a new campaign on Wednesday featuring Elle Duncan aimed at promoting responsible sports betting. The campaign is called “The Talk” and will also feature another SportsCenter anchor, Gary Striewski.
The first spot for the campaign, called “Wedding Day,” sees Duncan having a “heart-to-heart” conversation with some random guy who is about to get married. “At ESPN, we believe the best play is a smart play,” Duncan tells him.
“At ESPN, we believe it’s our responsibility to help sports fans understand the risks of sports betting and learn what smart betting looks like,” Kevin Martinez, Vice President of ESPN Corporate Citizenship, said in a press release.
“When ESPN decided to license its name to a sportsbook, responsible gaming was at the forefront of the discussion. The ESPN BET sportsbook, operated by PENN Entertainment, offers comprehensive responsible gaming resources that encompasses a wide range of protections and tools.
See how smoothly he slipped that plug into his message about ESPN wanting people to gamble responsibly? That’s a true professional right there.
“However, ESPN’s commitment to responsible gaming extends even further,” Martinez continued. “Because we feature content and advertising on betting, we believe we have a responsibility to help sports fans understand how to bet responsibly. We’re proud to work with industry leaders to find new and different ways to reach these audiences.”
“‘The Talk’ blends education, humor and actionable resources to capture attention and emphasize the importance of responsible gaming,” Martinez said. “This campaign encourages fans to reflect on their betting habits and discuss smart practices with family and friends. We want to normalize these conversations and ensure fans understand why responsible betting matters.”
They’re really promoting it too. The Elle Duncan spot has gotten an astounding 410 views, as of this writing, since it was first released on YouTube five days ago.
To help in those matters, ESPN is partnering with the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). They say they hope to “advance responsible betting practices through education and research” by granting “four competitive research fellowships for UNLV students and faculty studying responsible gambling in sports media.”
Naturally, a company that promotes sports betting on a platform bearing the company’s name promoting responsible gambling drew a few negative comments.
“Local Heroin Kingpin Launches Clean Needle Exchange Program,” one person wrote on X (Twitter) in response to the announcement.
“A little contradictory to have her go from being an ESPN BET spokesperson to then also say bet responsibility as part of the network’s campaign,” read another comment. “They couldn’t find someone who wasn’t already encouraging betting with the app?”
“Give us all your money, but in a responsible way,” someone else wrote.
“Maybe not promoting gambling 24/7 like ESPN does would be more effective at preventing problem gambling than its worthless ad campaign,” commented another sports fan.