The online gambling boom has come for our cookies. But this isn’t just about brand awareness; it’s also about encouraging consumers to bet.
Polymarket, a prediction market betting site in the U.S., reportedly appears in U.S. fortune cookies, according to recent social media posts on X and Reddit. The photographs show a QR code, but its destination isn’t clear.
Polymarket, based out of New York City, hasn’t confirmed the apparently recent marketing, and it remains unclear which advertising agency may be involved. While photos of the printed slips exist, whether it was an official campaign, an agency test, or a third-party stunt has not been confirmed.
Nothing New in Gambling
OpenFortune, a New York-based advertising agency that sells wholesale cookies featuring client logos to thousands of U.S. restaurants, has worked with companies such as the defunct FTX, BetMGM Sportsbook, Hard Rock Bet, Americas Cardroom, Jackpot City, Blitz App, and Jackpocket, a lottery gambling app DraftKings acquired in 2024.
OpenFortune’s website doesn’t list Polymarket.
According to a 2025 OpenFortune blog post, this advertising delivered “real, measurable impact” for the biggest players in the gambling industry.
Many non-gambling brands have also used the marketing service. Still, gambling disorder is a formally classified addiction, and the public health concerns are well-documented.
Why It Apparently Works
In the blog post, the agency said that when BetMGM partnered with OpenFortune to promote its new brand ambassador, Jamie Foxx, it put the message inside fortune cookies, leading to thousands of searches for BetMGM and a high social sharing rate.
Foxx became a BetMGM ambassador in 2020. It’s unclear how long the fortune cookie campaign ran or how many restaurants participated. GamblingHarm.org located an image of the BetMGM fortune cookie featuring Foxx.
OpenFortune also said that Jackpocket, the online lottery gambling app, saw big gains in brand awareness. It said it distributed “nearly one million fortune cookies in key markets” for the app. Fortune cookies distributed in New York and New Jersey contained QR codes that let customers redeem free lottery tickets through Jackpocket.
OpenFortune also claimed 78% of surveyed consumers were more likely to use Jackpocket after the campaign, and 69% could recall the brand without prompting.
“And that’s why they [brands] work with us,” the agency boasted.
Bigger Picture
I’ve covered the online gambling industry for many years, and I’ll admit that the reports about Polymarket in fortune cookies made me realize I had totally forgotten about this as an online gambling industry marketing strategy.
It had gone under the radar for me.
Polymarket’s apparent marketing has drawn criticism on social media, but the strategy is hardly new. The takeaway is that fortune cookie ads are an old online gambling tactic that raises concerns about gambling-related harm and exposure to children.
Unlike a sports betting ad in a sports broadcast, fortune cookie advertising can reach people who have no interest in sports or gambling. It can also reach children and people who have self-excluded from gambling.
This marketing also raises questions about whether state regulation adequately covers promotions that appear in everyday settings such as a meal with family and friends.
In the Hard Rock Bet example, the New Jersey fortune cookie campaign was designed to “boost awareness for the welcome bonus and drive signups, compliantly teasing Hard Rock Digital’s $1k deposit match.”
