- Malta based Betway has signed a multiyear partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL) and is now an ‘Official Sports Betting Partner’ of the league.
- Betway will receive significant brand exposure on NHL television broadcasts beginning with the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Betway has launched their sports betting app in Colorado with more states on the way.
Malta based Betway is a well known gaming provider throughout the world–particularly in Europe, Africa and Mexico. They’ve recently launched their first presence in the US as their mobile sports betting app is live in the new epicenter of American sports betting, Colorado. They’ve got more states on the way as well as plans for a US public listing via SPAC with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp LLC. Although the European incarnation of Betway has a variety of sponsorship deals with teams and leagues the US Betway just announced their first league-wide sponsorship deal–with the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Betway US corporate lineage is a bit confusing so here’s the 4-1-1: The actual licensee in the US is Digital Gaming Corporation, a British firm best known for online casino games. They entered the US market for the first time back in September 2020, partnering with BetMGM to launch their slot games in New Jersey. Digital Gaming’s entry into sports betting in some form has been apparent since they were approved for a Temporary Internet Sports Betting Operator License by the Colorado Division of Gaming in April, 2020. Betway has entered into an exclusive brand licence agreement with DGC for the use of the Betway brand in the US. Got all that? The US DGC/Betway says they have market access deals in 10 US states though to date they’ve only launched in Colorado.
The new deal with the National Hockey League (NHL) is a good one and should get Betway a lot of exposure. Their partnership with the NHL is a ‘multiyear deal’ and gives Betway the ‘Official Sports Betting Partner’ designation. The partnership deal will begin with the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs and here’s some of the branding that Betway will get from the press release announcing the arrangement:
Launching tomorrow with the start of the 2021 Stanley Cup® Playoffs, Betway will receive significant brand exposure on a global basis via a corner in-ice brand position and camera-visible dasherboard. These signage placements will be for all games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 2021 Stanley Cup Final and will continue throughout the duration of the partnership. Betway will also receive a corner in-ice brand position at NHL tentpole events, including the NHL Winter Classic®, NHL Stadium Series™ and NHL® All-Star Weekend.
Neal Menashe, CEO of Super Group (the company licensing the Betway name in the US) had this to say about the deal with the NHL:
“This deal strengthens our strategy to expand our global customer base by partnering with the biggest leagues in the most popular sports around the world. Tens of millions of viewers will see the Betway logo on the ice for these prestigious games as we make ourselves known to a new audience in the U.S. and beyond.”
Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway, added these thoughts:
“It’s an incredibly proud moment as we announce our first North American sports league partnership with the NHL. Starting with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Betway brand will receive major exposure to sports fans around the globe and that will continue at other NHL tentpole events throughout the calendar, which is hugely exciting for us.”
Betway also gets the right to use NHL trademarks and logos along with a full portfolio of corporate buzzwords:
The partnership provides Betway with rights to use NHL marks, logos and official designations designed help create authentic NHL fan and consumer marketing programs. Additionally, Betway will have access to a full portfolio of NHL-controlled media assets throughout the term of the partnership including custom digital, social and email marketing campaigns focused on building brand awareness and driving new customer acquisition.
Keith Wachtel, NHL Chief Business Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, is glad to have Betway on board for the Stanley Cup playoffs:
“The Stanley Cup Playoffs is the most exciting two months in sports and delivers a tremendous opportunity for fan engagement on a global basis. With the sports betting category continuing to evolve at a rapid pace, we’re thrilled to launch our new partnership with Betway at this very exciting time of our season. Betway has a very aggressive growth strategy and are an ideal partner to engage with our avid fan base.”
In late March, Betway announced partnership deals with a whole slew of NBA and NHL teams including the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors of the NBA and the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders of the NHL.
