- The National Hockey League (NHL) has expanded their partnerships with FanDuel and BetMGM to include the entire North American Market.
- The expansion allows the sportsbooks to use the official NHL branding to market in Ontario as well as other jurisdictions in Canada that come online.
- Additional sportsbooks will likely enter into a similar expanded relationship with the league.
As Ontario opens the first legitimately competitive sports betting marketplace in Canada, the National Hockey League (NHL) is obviously going to be leveraging similar opportunities to what we’ve seen them do in the United States. The league’s first move into their home province took place late last week as the NHL expanded their already existing relationships with FanDuel and BetMGM to include all of North America. More specifically, this allows their sportsbook partners to use official NHL trademarks to market in Ontario and other Canadian provinces that come online.
Here’s FanDuel’s explanation of these partnerships from their press release. Pretty much the same deal for BetMGM:
The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced a new multiyear partnership deal, making FanDuel one of the first-ever North American sports betting partners of the NHL, as FanDuel expands their rights into Canada. Today’s announcement comes after the province of Ontario launched its regulated single-game sports betting market earlier this week.
As part of these expanded North American partnerships, FanDuel will have rights to use official NHL branding and category designations in a variety of ways to appeal to fans and sports betting customers in legal jurisdictions across Canada and the United States. FanDuel will also continue to receive custom content across NHL-controlled media channels and will be integrated into the NHL’s marquee events across North America, including camera-visible signage and on-site activation opportunities as well as premium hospitality solutions throughout the NHL season.
And by now you know that where there’s sports betting there’s fan engagement!
FanDuel’s partnership extension with the NHL will focus on driving engagement with its Daily Fantasy offerings in the United States and Sports Betting offerings in the United States and Ontario by leveraging the NHL’s most prominent camera visible assets across its calendar of regular season tentpole events, as well as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. FanDuel will further utilize a portfolio of turnkey, event hospitality assets to drive deeper engagement with its customers.
Here’s the quotes from the relevant parties starting with NHL chief business officer and senior executive vice president Keith Wachtel:
“Canada’s new sports betting landscape presents a tremendous opportunity to further fan engagement and continue our progressive approach with the sports gaming industry,” said NHL . “FanDuel was one of our first sports betting partners in the U.S., and we’re thrilled to expand our partnership with a leader in the sportsbook and mobile betting marketplace as we begin our transformative entry into this space in Canada and engage our avid Canadian fan base.”
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe did the honors for her company:
“We are delighted to expand our partnership with the NHL to include all of North America as our business grows into Canada with the launch of the Ontario market. This partnership has allowed the NHL and FanDuel to collaborate and become true innovators in sports betting with initiatives like the NHL Network’s first-ever Odds Ticker and custom NHL sports betting content for social media.”
Adam Greenblatt, chief executive of BetMGM, chimed in:
“Our existing partnership with the NHL accelerated our ability to reach hockey fans and has allowed us to deliver an enhanced hockey wagering product. Expanding our partnership with the NHL throughout North America, aligned with our recent launch in Ontario, puts us in a great position for long-term success in Canada. We’re excited to further our relationship with the NHL including incorporating some of its all-time greats from Wayne Gretzky to Connor McDavid into our brand marketing.” SHARE
You can expect the NHL to add more sportsbooks to their Canadian roster in the months to come.
