Responsible sports betting is the way forward—that’s the motto BetMGM lives and breathes with as it continues to grow in the betting world. Given that the industry is already flooded with top players like DraftKings and FanDuel, BetMGM’s ploy is even bigger. But the question is, how do they really segregate themselves from the top performers? What’s the secret playbook they follow to grow the Sportsbook culture they are trying to inject into the ever-expanding world of sports?
In the latest EssentiallySports Think Tank podcast episode, our host, Trey Holder, caught up with none other than BetMGM’s Director of Brand, AJ Mazza. Following his impressive tenure as Director of Marketing at the Fintech Portfolio, Mazza went on to expand the brand footprint of BetMGM. His expertise in marketing and brand management is what makes him the perfect fit for the things BetMGM is trying to pull.
So, for insights into the things he is planning for this large pool of customers, Trey had the perfect question for him. “You have all kinds of different types of fans you tailor to. How do you tailor those different efforts?” he asked, knowing that BetMGM heavily attracts fans from football, basketball and other massively popular sports in the USA.
Of course, it’s never easy to look at multiple sports, their fan bases, and dominate each one of those industries. You have to come up with a clever strategy that allows you to get an edge over others. And that secret to success, apparently, as per Mazza, lies in the teams of those respective sports.
“The teams are a great way to do that,” he said. “The teams give us the hospitality, so for a high-value player, we can entertain them, we can give them field access. Maybe meet and greet with players, maybe tailor that sort of player experience and marketing challenge for that group.”
Mazza’s commitment to delivering a premium customer experience sets BetMGM apart in a crowded marketplace. It’s the brand’s deep, almost intuitive understanding of its audience that gives it that magnetic edge over the competition. But Mazza doesn’t rely solely on high-performing teams to drive growth. At the heart of his dynamic brand management strategy lies a bold, standout marketing concept—one that’s uniquely his and central to BetMGM’s expanding influence.
AJ Mazza’s unique proposition to make BetMGM stand out over its competitors
Once teams do their part to help BetMGM understand different fan bases they are trying to reach, the next thing that follows is what Mazza calls “a very important group of players.” No, not a literal group of players. Instead, players are a nickname Mazza uses to refer to its customer base.
So that things don’t get monotonous and sketchy, Mazza feels naming his customer base as players helps him do his work more efficiently. “We call our customers players because for me I like the idea of naming your customer base,” he added.
Per Mazza, the customer sounds “very transactional.” It only shouts business as usual. There’s nothing special about it, given that the customers are the heart and soul of a business. So, to make work a tad bit more interesting and easier to grasp. Mazza feels “it’s important to start to use nomenclature as a player, is then you think about how you create the best experience for my player.”
Basically, it’s all about relationship building. Having that strong relationship with high-value players gives BetMGM the chance to keep growing in different sports markets.
“It’s just a big piece of like how we look at our world,” Mazza mused. Given that BetMGM recorded a $2.1B revenue in 2024, a 7% increase from previous years, something is definitely clicking for them. And things can get even better if Mazza continues to think about such unique propositions.
Our EssentiallySports Think Tank podcast specializes in offering valuable insights from global industry experts. To catch up on more such interviews, stay tuned as we bring more leaders on our future podcast episodes. This is EssentiallySports Think Tank—Where Sports Meets Smart Content.
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