TLDR
- LeBron James announced a partnership with Polymarket on Labor Day weekend, teasing more news to come.
- Polymarket aired a 90-second ad directed by Peter Berg, featuring Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Richard Sherman, John Leguizamo and Spike Lee.
- The campaign coincided with the launch of Squads, a social trading feature inside the Polymarket app.
- Polymarket ranked first on the App Store for free finance apps, ahead of Kalshi, Capital One Mobile, PayPal and Venmo.
- Anti-gambling advocates criticized the celebrity endorsements, pointing to a Bank of America study on household betting deposits.
LeBron James posted a short video on X during Labor Day weekend announcing a new partnership with Polymarket. The post came the same day Ohio State opened its football season with a 56-3 win over Miami (Ohio).
James hinted that more details would follow. Two days later, Polymarket delivered with a large ad campaign built around the news.
The company released a 90-second commercial directed by Peter Berg, known for the television series Friday Night Lights. The ad had more than 15.5 million views on James’ X page.
The spot featured Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Richard Sherman, John Leguizamo and Spike Lee. It mixed sports references with comedy, including a scene of Manning catching passes from a jugs machine inside Polymarket’s office.
The campaign launched alongside Squads, a new social feature in the Polymarket app. Squads lets users talk about markets, share picks and trade together in one place.
“With Squads, we’re bringing the conversation and trading together so friends can follow the events they care about and make their predictions in one place,” said Travis VanderZanden, chief growth officer at Polymarket.
Ad Boosts App Store Rankings
Polymarket has not shared the total cost of the campaign. Industry costs for a director like Berg, along with production, effects and sound design, typically run into the millions.
The spending appeared to pay off in downloads. On Tuesday, Polymarket became the top free finance app on the App Store, ahead of Kalshi, Capital One Mobile, PayPal and Venmo.
Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment about the campaign or its results.
Backlash From Anti-Gambling Groups
Several athletes in the ad shared reactions online. Leguizamo repeated his line from the commercial, writing, “It’s live trading, you gotta stay on your toes.”
Manning joked about putting his football pads back on, and Sherman replied by challenging him to try it on the field.
Not everyone welcomed the campaign. Radio host Craig Carton, a recovering gambler, said unregulated prediction markets are pushing Americans into debt and criticized the athletes for promoting the platform.
A Bank of America study released September 1 found that households active in online betting had median deposit balances 59% higher than households that did not bet online.
Prediction markets are regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This week, a CFTC deputy general counsel posted a job listing tied to writing new rules for event contracts.
The ad campaign launched two days before the NFL season opener, a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
The Seahawks beat the Patriots 29-13 in February to win the title, though the Los Angeles Rams are favored by most sportsbooks to win it this year.
As of 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, Polymarket traders gave Seattle a 62% chance to beat New England, with the Patriots at 39%. James’ previous multi-year deal with DraftKings expired earlier this summer, according to Yahoo Finance.
