Sports Betting Companies Holding Comic at Arm’s Length After Trump Rally

Before his appearance at former President Donald Trump’s rally in New York on Oct. 27, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was quietly one of DraftKings’ most productive brand ambassadors. 

The promo codes Hinchcliffe offered up on social media and elsewhere drove referrals to DraftKings before his racist jokes—ones that weren’t dissimilar in tenor from his appearance at Tom Brady’s Netflix roast earlier this year—complicated that relationship. Front Office Sports reported Monday that DraftKings was reassessing its relationship, but the company has not definitively said it has cut Hinchcliffe, known as “Kill Tony,” loose. 

“They could be waiting for this to blow over,” said one longtime betting industry insider who was granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter. 

In the meantime, Hinchcliffe’s agent, Nick Nuciforo of United Talent Agency, had discussions last week with other sports betting and daily fantasy companies, two sources with knowledge of those discussions told FOS. Nuciforo did not respond to a request for comment before publication. 

“Nobody wants to work with him until the news cycle dies down,” one of those sources said. 

There continues to be fallout from Hinchcliffe’s set. Several major Puerto Rican celebrities who had not previously weighed in on the election endorsed Harris, while there is some evidence that Harris’s standing among Puerto Rican and Latino voters has improved in recent days. 

Major companies that utilize brand ambassadors have been quick to distance themselves from athletes and celebrities facing controversy, including Apple cutting ties with then-Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2021 after he was accused of sexual misconduct in a series of lawsuits. 

Sports betting and daily fantasy companies are no different, although they operate in the political sphere at the state level in ways many industries do not.

“Gaming companies will support both sides of the aisles in different states to get more favorable gaming regulations or licensing deals,” another veteran gambling industry employee said. 

DratKings is in a tough spot with Hinchcliffe. Publicly terminating his deal due to comments at the Republican presidential candidate’s rally would play well in blue states, but may not be viewed the same by politicians in red states. 

DraftKings currently operates in 26 states and, along with FanDuel, has dominated the sports betting market since the Supreme Court opened up state-sanctioned sports betting nationwide in 2018. DraftKings and FanDuel control about 70% of the legalized sports betting market in the U.S. A major factor in both companies’ rise is sports betting was maneuvering the political and legal landscape from the rollout of daily fantasy about a decade ago. 

And Hinchcliffe wasn’t DraftKings’ only recent ambassador headache. Last week, betting analyst Taylor Mathis locked her account and—like Hinchcliffe—removed references to DraftKings in her social media accounts after she was accused of being involved in a crypto pump-and-dump scheme. 

“DraftKings is probably one of the most recognizable brands in the country right now,” one of the veteran insiders said. “If I was them, I’d have no ambassadors.”