Sky Bet switches media agency

Flutter-owned Sky Bet held a competition to choose an agency to lead its multi-million-pound UK advertising account.

UK.- Flutter’s Sky Bet has named Grey London as the new creative lead of its multi-million-pound UK advertising account. The agency has won a competitive pitch and will replace Who Wot Why which has run the brand’s campaigns since 2018.

It said Grey London will have the task of “developing a long-term strategic brand platform for Sky Bet to help set the future direction of the business and cement its position in the betting market”.

Sky Bet head of brand marketing Leigh Peacock-Goodwin said: “We’ve got a bright and busy future ahead of us and we needed an agency partner who can help us chart this next, exciting stage for Sky Bet, and that’s who we’ve found in Grey.”

Grey London joint MD Jonny Tennant Price said: “It’s rare for a client team to dedicate themselves so passionately and comprehensively to the role of the brand in transforming their business. In the next few months, we will be implementing a pioneering new brand strategy for Sky Bet that will lead to exciting new creative work.”

The agency switch comes after the introduction of stricter rules for UK gambling advertising, and while the country still awaits the delivery of the government’s gambling white paper. The Advertising Standards Authority has warned gambling operators to remember that the CAP Code now prohibits gambling ads from using well-known footballers, athletes or social media influencers that could have a strong appeal to minors.

Sky Bet will be Grey London’s first client in the gambling sector. It has led creative accounts for Volvo, Pringles, the United Nations and Pfizer. Meanwhile, Allwyn, which has won the tender to operate the UK National Lottery, is seeking a creative lead for its advertising account.

Earlier this week, London-listed Flutter Entertainment agreed to pay a $4m settlement in a case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The case involved allegations of bribery against Pokerstars dating back to before Flutter acquired the brand in 2020.

The SEC claimed that Pokerstars, then owned by the Stars Group, made $8.9m in payments to Russia-based consultants between 2015 and 2020 as part of its lobbying efforts to push for the legalisation of poker in the country. It found that some of the payments ended up being passed on to government officials, which would put Pokerstars in breach of international foreign bribery laws.