Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) is hoping that celeb star power can help grow the profit and share price.
Pointsbet is a corporate bookmaker with operations in Australia and the US. It offers fixed odd sports fixed odds racing and points betting. It boasts of having the quickest, most user-friendly app for betters, whilst also having the best content.
What happened?
Pointsbet announced today that it has appointed Shaquille O’Neal as its Australian brand ambassador. Shaq, as he’s commonly known, was a professional basketballer who was the most valuable player (MVP) three times and was part of the winning NBA team four teams.
Under the agreement, O’Neal will headline the company’s new 2021 Australian brand campaign, which will be rolled out across television, digital, mobile and social media.
Management comments
Pointsbet Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder Andrew Fahey said: “Shaq is an iconic figure in the worlds of sports and entertainment and was our clear number one pick to represent the PointsBet brand in Australia. US sports, particularly professional basketball, continue to be the fastest-growing betting sport in Australia and we are very excited to align with such a transcendent athlete.
“Further, we are delighted that Mr O’Neal has agreed to take part of his consideration in the form of equity in PointsBet, which underscores the alignment and trust across our teams and our shared belief in the opportunities ahead for PointsBet.”
Shaq comment
Shaq said: “The rise of responsible sports betting is really exciting, and I am so excited to joint forces with PointsBet, the best in class partner in Australia when it comes to online sportsbooks.”
Summary thoughts
Getting Shaq on board is impressive considering he’s one of the most famous and successful US sportspeople of all time. It’s a good point for the company that Shaq was willing to become a shareholder, though I doubt he did a discounted cashflow analysis before making the decision.
I do think PointsBet is one to watch as it expands in the US, but there are other ASX growth shares increasing market share in the US I’d rather buy such as Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH).