The “Don’t Regret the Bet” marketing campaign, which was first introduced in Michigan in March 2023, has been renewed for 2024, with the state budget for the new fiscal year including $3,000,000 in funding for the campaign.
Michigan is one of the few states that are a part of the legal US online poker and casino market, making it that much more relevant to offer powerful responsible gambling campaigns like Don’t Regret the Bet in 2024.
The campaign’s first year was a great success, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), the state’s regulatory agency for igaming.
The campaign itself came as a result of MGCB’s efforts to expand responsible gambling advertising and was created in partnership with King Media, a Lansing-based marketing agency.
In 2024, the “Don’t Regret the Bet” campaign will aim to advocate for responsible gambling in Michigan through a series of new TV commercials, social media ads, website updates, and other relevant content aimed directly at the players and offering educational messages on the topic of responsible gambling.
$50 Million in Funds Allocated to MGCB in 2024
Under the new state budget, MGCB will have $50.7 million to work with in 2024, some $4 million more than the previous year.
The additional funds added to MGCB’s budget will be used to cover the salaries and expenses of 16 full-time staff members who will support new programs and create an integrated receivable system within the state’s financial system called SIGMA.
In addition to these, for the first time in the three years of its operation, MGCB will start paying its board members to attend the meetings, with $63,000 in funds allocated for board member meetings.
The Board will invest $3 million in the “Don’t Regret the Bet” campaign during 2024, as the two continue to work together to create marketing content and provide necessary tools to help Michiganders battle problem gambling and remain responsible with their gambling funds at all times.
Campaign’s Success Rewarded with Accolades in 2023
Regulated online gaming launched in the state in 2021, with the first MI online poker apps, casino sites and sportsbooks all going live. The “Don’t Regret the Bet” campaign was first established in early 2023 by MGCB and King Media and has since served the Michigan market with various marketing materials on the topics of responsible gambling and addictive gambling behavior.
In 2023, the campaign received a total of $2.3 million in funding, a number that will go up to $3 million this year and that will aim to continue producing similar content and tools to help Michiganders make gambling a fun hobby and not a problematic addiction.
The campaign received multiple awards in 2023 at the Platinum Viddy Awards and the Platinum docCOM Awards, demonstrating the quality and effectiveness of the created content.
MGCB Aims to Expand Responsible Gambling Education to Schools
In 2024, MGCB is looking to expand its responsible gambling education through various venues, with the continuation of the “Don’t Regret the Bet” campaign being a big part of that agenda.
The $3 million in funds reserved for the campaign in Gov. Gretchen’s budget will help King Media create a variety of new commercials for TV and Radio, as well as bolster a social media campaign to drive traffic to the campaign’s website.
The responsible gambling campaign has thus far received strong bipartisan support in Michigan, and further MGCB projects seem to be readily accepted on both sides of the aisle as well.
One of the most interesting ones is MGCB’s initiative to add responsible gambling education to the public school curriculum, which would mean children get exposed to such education at a very young age, even before they are legally allowed to gamble.
The future of this initiative remains to be decided, but the “Don’t Regret the Bet” campaign will definitely continue into 2024 and guarantees that Michigan bettors and casino players will be exposed to all the necessary tools for problem gambling prevention.
