Entain Group mega account up for grabs – but does anyone want it?
Gambling giant Entain Group is shopping for a new creative agency after parting ways with The Monkeys, Mumbrella can reveal.
But industry whispers suggest at least two main players invited to pitch by the operator of mega brands Neds and Ladbrokes have politely declined. It comes just a week after a parliamentary inquiry made the bombshell recommendation that all gambling ads be banned.
Entain signed The Monkeys in October 2021.
Its parent company Accenture Song was earlier this year named Tabcorp’s agency of record for brand strategy, platform and creative, and despite initially saying it could avoid a conflict, that view seems to have recently shifted.
Entain Group and Accenture Song declined to comment, however it’s understood the former is confident it will find a new shop soon.
The wagering group’s media account is currently with independent agency Atomic 212.
According to data from Nielsen, Entain spent $128 million on ads in 2021.
Figures from the same source show that Australian gambling operators splashed more than $300 million on advertising in 2022. About half of that money went to free-to-air television providers, who fired off a furious response to the proposed ad ban.
It was one of the 31 sweeping recommendations made as part of parliament’s probe of online gambling. The four-stage plan would see ads phased out over the next three years.
The vast majority of Aussies support a ban on gambling advertising and consider such promos as being on par with hawking cigarettes, according to polling. Local punters lose an estimated $25 billion to gambling each year – the highest in the world per capita.
Was this the company that won a prestigious industry ad award a couple of years back? If it was big shoes to fill,
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