North American sports betting newcomer, Betway and their parent company Super Group is wasting no time getting their name out there in the US legal sports betting universe. The company announced Friday that they are becoming the latest Official Sports Betting Partner of the National Hockey League – their first such deal with a North American league.
Having officially announced their intention to join the US market not quite three weeks ago, Betway’s rapid negotiations with the world’s preeminent hockey league comes at the perfect time – a day before the league started their two-month playoff run, when exposure for the hottest game on ice is at its peek.
Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway, said: “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.”
First, a Bit About Betway
Betway and their parent company Super Group have been a recognizable name in the European scene for years. Currently, the company is licensed in 23 jurisdictions throughout Europe, the Americas and Africa. They reported more than $42 billion in total handle in the 12 months that ended March 2021 and boast over 2.5 million monthly unique active customers.
The NHL deal represents Betway’s first deal with a professional sports league in North America, but it isn’t their only relationship within the US sports sphere. The betting brand already has existing relationships with NBA teams the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers.
Now for the Deal
The Betway/NHL deal is not unlike all of the recent avalanche of sports betting provider/league partnership deals. Betway gains the right to use NHL marks, logos and official designations designed to help create authentic NHL fan and consumer marketing programs. Betway also gets access to a broad range of NHL media assets including custom digital, social and email marketing campaigns during their drive to acquire customers and get their name out there in the broader US market.
Betway signage will be visible anywhere the NHL happens to be which is especially important with the extra attention the sport draws during playoff time. The sports betting provider gains invaluable brand exposure before, during and after NHL broadcasts “via a corner in-ice brand position and camera-visible dasherboard” and will have signage visible during the action on the ice.
Super Group CEO Neal Menashe said of the ground-breaking deal: “This deal strengthens our global strategy to partner 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 US and beyond.”
Other Super Group deals that should provide a spark
Betway and Super Group have signaled a desire to become the latest publicly traded sports betting company thanks to a deal a few weeks back with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. Going public like a slew of other elite sports betting providers in the US will act to energize their brand-recognition and provide capitol for their expansion plans.
Super Group also showed their seriousness about the North American market with a deal to acquire Digital Gaming Corp., which jump starts the brand and gives them immediate market access to 10 US states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana and Iowa.
Betway brings with them a ton of legal wagering experience from Europe and a stable of cash-on-hand to the US market.
The Future of Such Deals
The US legal sports betting gold rush has come a long way since the Supreme Courts’s overturning of its blanket ban on sports wagering in 2018. Every major North American league has at least one sportsbook sponsorship under their belts – some have multiple such deals in place.
Expect more partnerships like the Betway/NHL merger to continue. Now that Betway has broken their North American ice, the British sportsbook should be in on their share of partnership deals going forward.
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