A Casino Is Getting Into The Ad-network Business As 'commerce Media' Continues To Surge

Mohegan is launching an ad network aimed at gamblers in casinos and other visitors to its resorts.

Mohegan

• Casino and entertainment-resort company Mohegan is launching an ad network.
• Mohegan is working with LiveRamp to allow advertisers to target its customers.
• The casino media network is the latest to join the rapidly growing commerce and retail media space.

Meet the latest entrant to the buzzy commerce media space: The casino and entertainment-resort company Mohegan.

Commerce media, also often referred to as retail media, is growing rapidly as retailers, online marketplaces, financial-services companies, airlines, and more enter the high-margin business of selling advertising on their apps and websites.

Research company EMARKETER estimated that US retail media spending would grow by 26% to $54.85 billion last year.

Mohegan exclusively told Business Insider that it has partnered with the data company LiveRamp to launch what the companies described as the "industry's first casino media network."

The network will let advertisers target visitors to its resorts in the US, Canada, and South Korea across kiosks, slot machines, and other digital signage, as well as users of its app and Momentum loyalty program. Mohegan also owns the Connecticut Sun WNBA team.

The companies said this real estate — which includes its Mohegan Sun arena, casinos, hotel rooms, restaurants, and retail stores — equates to 200 million potential ad impressions each month.

While Mohegan already runs some advertising — on its slot machines, for example — the partnership with LiveRamp will help advertisers identify data attributes about its players so they can more precisely target their desired audiences, said Rich Roberts, president of Mohegan Digital.

Roberts said gamblers tend to have the kind of disposable income that's appealing to high-end restaurants or car dealerships.

"Our customer base has grown significantly from a digital perspective with hundreds of thousands of players who do spend a considerable amount of money on the site," Roberts said.

LiveRamp works with many retail and commerce media networks, such as those operated by Albertsons, Dollar General, and United Airlines.

Initially, Mohegan will pitch its ad network to its current vendor partners, such as the entertainment companies that stage events at its venues, restaurants, retailers inside its malls, and other local businesses.

Later, LiveRamp aims to extend the data offering so that advertisers can target Mohegan's audiences across other websites, apps, and properties that it doesn't own — known in the industry as off-site media.

"What we have learned across the industry is that you start with your owned and operated inventory, but very quickly you fill out most of the inventory — that's where collaboration comes into play," said Vihan Sharma, LiveRamp's chief revenue officer.

Marc Goldberg, CEO of the media advisory and consulting service Stages Collective, said Mohegan would need to focus heavily on pitching advertisers on the unique assets of its audience.

"The math and margins are attractive to a lot of companies as they see what a retail media network can deliver at scale," Goldberg said. "The problem is that not all businesses have a unique enough audience to attract both the attention and the ad dollars."