NEW YORK — In a crowded sports betting landscape often dominated by retired quarterbacks and aggressive promo codes, Fanatics Sportsbook is placing its biggest wager yet on a different kind of MVP: Kendall Jenner.
On Tuesday, the merchandise giant turned betting operator unveiled its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, a 30-second spot slated to air during the halftime of Super Bowl LX. Titled “Bet on Kendall,” the campaign marks a significant departure from traditional sportsbook advertising by leaning directly into one of the internet’s most persistent conspiracy theories: the “Kardashian Curse.”
For nearly a decade, social media has fueled the joke that NBA players who date members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan inevitably suffer from statistical declines or team losses. Rather than ignoring the narrative, Fanatics and Jenner have weaponized it. The commercial features the 30-year-old model in a dimly lit, “kursed” mansion, deadpanning to the camera that while the world speculated about her effect on athletes, she was busy capitalizing on it. The punchline? Jenner reveals she funds her luxurious lifestyle, including a private jet and vintage cars, by betting against her ex-boyfriends using the Fanatics Sportsbook app.
“The magic of this campaign is how Kendall Jenner transforms the lore of the Kardashian Kurse into something playful, participatory, and unmistakably of the moment,” said Selena Kalvaria, Chief Marketing Officer at Fanatics Betting and Gaming. “We very much have a challenger mindset, and we’re thinking about how we can build differently.”
The spot represents more than just a celebrity cameo; it is the debut production from Fanatics Studios, a newly formed content division created in partnership with Michael D. Ratner’s OBB Media. Ratner, who directed the commercial alongside Cameron Harris, emphasized that the goal was to create content at the “intersection of sports and culture,” aiming to broaden the betting demographic beyond the typical die-hard sports fan.
Strategically, the campaign is designed to drive immediate user acquisition ahead of the February 8 kickoff between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. To bridge the gap between the commercial and the app, Fanatics has introduced a “Bet on Kendall” promotion. Jenner is scheduled to reveal her official Super Bowl pick on Wednesday night, and the sportsbook will offer a 100% profit boost to any user who wagers on the same outcome.
The move comes as Fanatics continues to aggressively chase market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel. By securing a premium halftime slot and leveraging the massive social reach of the Kardashian-Jenner family, the company is signaling that its ambitions extend far beyond selling jerseys.
While the “curse” may have haunted NBA box scores in the past, Fanatics is banking on it being a good luck charm for their bottom line. Whether the strategy pays off will be decided not on the field in Santa Clara, but on the mobile screens of millions of viewers wondering if Kendall’s intuition is as sharp as her humor.
