Ladbrokes expands into music and comedy with online ticket draws

Ladbrokes LIVE involves a deal with AEG Presents, The O2 and NME.

UK.- With gambling advertising and promotion coming under increasing scrutiny, brands are seeking new strategies. And Entain’s Ladbrokes is venturing into ticketing for music and comedy events.

Through a deal with AEG Presents, The O2 and NME, the sportsbook has launched Ladbrokes LIVE which offers chances to win tickets to live music and comedy shows. The platform has been launched with a private box and digital OOH advertising at The O2, sponsorship of the NME Awards show and ticket access through AEG Presents, which manages concerts, tours, bars, venues and music festivals.

The product, at ladbrokeslive.co.uk, does not offer betting, but free draws. Players have three chances a week to enter draws to win tickets to the events they fancy. But the platform also promotes Ladbrokes “World of Play”. It will be interesting to see what regulators and campaigners make of it, since it could be seen that the brand is preparing to move gambling sponsorship from sport to music in a way that introduces new players to the idea of trying their luck.

Ladbrokes’ head of brand Kelly Rose said: “We’re embarking on an exciting new era for Ladbrokes connecting thousands of fans with free access to artists and talent through the Ladbrokes LIVE platform. 

“In The O2, AEG Presents, and NME we’re working with three of the biggest and most iconic brands in the entertainment industry and this means we will be able to reward our audiences with the chance to attend some of the most exciting live shows in Britain for free.”

Georgina Iceton, director – partnership activation at AEG Global Partnerships, said: “We are pleased to welcome Ladbrokes as a brand partner, and its customers to our world-famous venues like The O2, and best-in-class festivals with AEG Presents. 

“The creation of a specially designed guest box at The O2, alongside unique live experiences across AEG Europe’s venues and live events will bring an exciting new dimension of entertainment not just for Ladbrokes customers, but all our visitors.”

NME, as well as giving Ladbrokes promotion at its annual awards show, will also grant access to Club NME events.

Holly Bishop, chief operating and commercial officer at NME, remarked: “We are thrilled to announce the return of the legendary Club NME, once again providing fans with unforgettable live music experiences at some of the UK’s best venues. 

“Thanks to Ladbrokes, all tickets will be completely free, making Club NME more accessible than ever. We’ll see you at the front!”

Last month, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against Ladbrokes about two Twitter posts featuring football managers. It has ordered the operator to remove the posts. The posts featured Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe and other managers and referenced betting odds. The ASA ruled that they could potentially appeal to under 18s.

Ladbrokes argued that one of the tweets was editorial and contained no calls to action, promotional offers or links to place bets. It also said that none of the post’s 22,182 impressions targeted a user aged under 25. It accepted that the other tweet was commercial and that it had been wrong to use photos of current football managers.