Learn how Gila River Hotels & Casinos actioned their Sports Partnerships to gain access to a qualified database & drive additional revenue.

Since 2018, great strides have been made in the legalization of sports betting at a state level, resulting in the continued growth of sports betting in America. Alongside this, there has been a massive increase in the number of teams and leagues reaching out to the gaming industry to form partnerships. With the growth of these partnerships, many gaming organizations are finding new ways to leverage their agreements to reach more fans. Gila River Hotels & Casinos is a shining example of redefining its relationship with sports fans in a unique and traceable way.

Gila River Hotels & Casinos has been a long time partner with the Arizona Cardinals. One priority this season was to build an addressable audience to reach business objectives. The marketing team crafted a strategy that would leverage fan engagement to build trust, gain first-party fan data, and drive consistent foot traffic to their 3 casino properties.

How They Did It

Gila River Hotels & Casinos embraced the idea of fan-focused engagement campaigns to create multiple touchpoints between their sports partner’s fans and their properties. Using the Tradable Bits Platform to run a weekly “Spin-to-Win” promotion, Gila River Hotels & Casinos ran consistent co-branded contests that offered fans the chance to win exclusive swag such as signed jerseys, stays in the themed Cardinals hotels rooms and more. Every entry received a co-branded mask as a consolation prize. By creating value specific to Arizona Cardinals fans, Gila River Hotels & Casinos created an incentive for fans to share valuable data that the organization can action in the future.

Using Interactive, Gamified Campaigns

Gila River Hotels & Casinos are no strangers to providing fans with an interactive and engaging experience. Traditionally, Gila River Hotels & Casinos would have access to 60,000 + fans per game in-stadium. However, given the current constraints of reduced physical capacity, the challenge was to bring an experience and engagement to their fans digitally. Using Tradable Bits’ turnkey digital engagement platform, they built out a robust “Spin-to-Win” campaign, which resonated with Cardinals fans in a new way.

By prioritizing interactive campaigns as part of their partnership strategy, Gila River Hotels & Casinos is positioning themselves as the go-between for fans wanting to engage with their favorite sports team.

Developing Their Data Ecosystem

A foundational goal for the Gila River Hotels & Casinos marketing team was developing a fan data ecosystem that focused on the highly engaged fans of their sports partners. Using the Tradable Bits platform, the marketing team established a custom way to collect verified first-party fan data from every fan participating in the campaign. All the collected fan data was then analyzed, segmented, and tracked against the casino’s database to see which fans were converting to customers.

In the future, Gila River Hotels & Casinos plans to use the Tradable Bits’ FanCRM to activate data against specific quality leads, depending on their sports affiliation and the cycle of promotions on property. The well-executed digital campaigns open the door to collecting verified fans. Gila River Hotels & Casinos was successful in collecting data on the right fans because they curated their campaign to “surprise and delight” and with a concrete goal in mind.

Playing the Long Game

The way that fans consume sports today is changing and this is only being accelerated by the digital environment we are currently in. When sponsors think about fan engagement today, there are more opportunities to embed their brand in the minds of sports fans than traditional logo branding placement. Gila River Hotels & Casinos is aiming to take advantage of the in-depth analysis they can action through fan data.

Short-term, the marketing team is using the Tradable Bits’ digital engagement platform to embed themselves in the fans’ “second-screen” world to start building out their fan database. Thanks to the ability to templatize a variety of interactive fan engagement campaigns, Gila River Hotels & Casinos has been able to offload the strain of creative and content creation from the team, allowing a better focus on strategic decisions.

Long-term, they’re creating personal connections with sports fans to imprint positive associations beyond simple brand recognition. When fans think about gaming related to sports, Gila River Hotels & Casinos will be top of mind.

The end goal is to drive revenue through foot-traffic into the three properties. Gila River Hotels & Casinos understands that this starts with meeting fans where they’re at. With campaigns like the “Spin-to-Win”, Gila River is using fan engagement to encourage an ongoing relationship with fans. The data collected on each fan can then be used to prioritize and activate their most relevant leads. In addition, prize winners of the campaign were encouraged to visit their Casino properties to redeem their prize. Introducing these fans under such winning circumstances creates an effective conversion environment and a positive lasting impression.

The Results

In contrast to many digital campaign activations, Gila River Hotels & Casinos achieved an astounding 5% CTR on Facebook ads advertising the “Cardinals Game Day Spin-to-Win”. This success was due to offering a highly effective value proposition for fans through a gamified and low-barrier-to-entry experience. The Spin-to-Win campaign was not only fitting for their brand and use-case, but it’s the type of campaign that fans understand and love to revisit - as shown by their average of 2000 spins a day.

Source: OH Partners


Gila River Hotels & Casinos achieved a 12.5% redemption rate on the prizes they offered in the Spin-to-Win. Fans then collected their prize at one of the casino properties - giving Gila River a chance to familiarize new fans with their facilities - and 82% of the people who came to redeem a prize stayed to play.

There’s no doubt about the strength of partnerships between sports teams and gaming companies. As we adjust to an increasingly digital environment, there are opportunities for gaming organizations to reap more traceable benefits from these partnerships.

If you’re looking for ways to leverage your sports sponsorships in order to reach more fans, talk to our team today to start brainstorming ideas.