ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Scuba divers or astronauts on the International Space Station may be the only humans who avoided a barrage of advertisements over the last two weeks enticing them to bet on the Super Bowl.
But the expensive, ubiquitous come-ons succeeded in driving new customers to many of the nation’s largest sportsbooks, boding well for the fast-growing legal sports betting industry in the U.S.
The gambling companies won't reveal exactly how many new customers they gained in the run-up to Sunday's Super Bowl, saying that is closely held proprietary information. But in general terms, they say the barrage of ads — many of which offered easy-to-win bets reserved for new players — succeeded in gaining them new customers they hope will continue to bet with them.