This study examines the Instagram strategies of sports betting companies Bally Bet and BetMGM for reaching their audiences. The three research questions focus on what sports bettors value in these companies and on their Instagram pages; which strategies are effective for reaching the target audience; and the importance of popular culture references, celebrity endorsements and influencers in this messaging. The researcher utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to identify the messaging categories used by both entities. Findings revealed that sports betting companies can strategically reach their targeted audiences on Instagram by successful strategies on Instagram by creating content that engages sports fans. Because the average bettor values entertainment over profiting on bets, messaging that includes popular culture and current events references to sport are essential for achieving relevancy with the fan base. These findings set the stage for future research which includes studies surrounding messaging variation across different sports, social media strategies related to trends, spending for acquisition costs, and efforts to encourage responsible gambling.

The Winner's Circle aims to provide a digital platform for sports fans and betting addicts, in hopes to help centralize various forms of social communication between family, close friends, and strangers alike. As the legalization of sports related gambling activities become more widespread throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world, our platform has to potential to connect millions of like-minded, adrenaline-seeking fans across the globe.

The Winner's Circle aims to provide a digital platform for sports fans and betting addicts, in hopes to help centralize various forms of social communication between family, close friends, and strangers alike. As the legalization of sports related gambling activities become more widespread throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world, our platform has to potential to connect millions of like-minded, adrenaline-seeking fans across the globe.

In the United States, gambling regulations have been loosening considerably over the past several years. Many states have legalized sports betting either at physical locations or through mobile apps. With the legalizations have come an influx of marketing efforts by all the large gambling companies. These marketing efforts raise serious ethical and legal questions, as groups of vulnerable people such as minors are being frequently exposed to sports betting and other online gaming.

This thesis discusses the implications of sports gambling from a perspective of addiction and promotions offered by sportsbooks. It discusses the background behind the recent legalization of sports gambling in the U.S., the potential result of gambling addiction, the different types of promotions commonly offered by sportsbooks, how these promotions relate to psychological phenomena related to gambling addiction, and how an ideal bettor could use these promotions to their advantage in order to best avoid addiction and losing excessive money. The data on the promotions used for analysis was collected primarily from DraftKings and manipulated in order to find expected returns, implied probabilities, and other relevant information. There is a discussion of how an ideal bettor could utilize the promotions commonly offered to consumers in order to make money on new platforms and theoretically avoid losing as much money by continuously betting in a strategic way.