• by Fern Siegel , July 1, 2024

Neil Patrick Harris, a star of numerous TV shows and musicals, is now pitching online gambling. Specifically, he's starring in “Make Any Moment Golden,” a new campaign for Golden Nugget Online Gaming.

Created in-house with the help of Caviar, the spots are directed by Jason Woliner, who also directed "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm."

The spots are "Fishing" and "Dog Groomer." Clad in a gold suit Harris croons at the piano, insisting that gaming is fun, something to do when relaxing or waiting.

Running across digital and OOH channels, the spots air in the states where Golden Nugget Online Gaming is available: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan and New Jersey.

The company said the campaign wants to “infuse an optimistic tone with an entertainment value that is synonymous with Golden Nugget Online Gaming’s root in Vegas.”

The GNOG app gives customers the choice of more than 500 slots and classic table games.

“We had our sights set on working with someone who would bring energy, fun and entertainment, as well as resonate with our players. Neil Patrick Harris rose to the top on both accounts,” DraftKings vice president, marketing Veronica Hamel told ad site Muse.

Online gaming is a winning enterprise.

Total igaming (online gambling) revenue for December 2023 in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware totaled $582.2 million, according to CDC Gambling Reports. (Golden Nugget led the pack, registering $52.8 million.) That total is a YoY increase of 26.6%, spread across all states, over December 2022. More broadly, Statista reports online casinos earned $19 billion in 2023 and are projected to hit $23 billion in 2024.