Pointsbet Named Authorized Gaming Operator of WNBA

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New York Liberty's guard Marine Johannes (C) handles the ball during the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) match. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP)

The marriage between pro sports leagues and gambling providers wrote another chapter late last week with yet another partnership deal being revealed. PointsBet announced Friday that it is in the process of becoming an Authorized Gaming Operator of Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), just one week into the world’s preeminent women’s basketball league’s current 2021 season.

The deal marks the first such deal that Australian-based sports betting provider PointsBet has signed with a women’s professional sports league. PointsBet joins BetMGM and one of the two DFS giants in the US legal sports betting scene as partners of the increasingly predominant league.

“We are thrilled to align with the WNBA and bring the world-class PointsBet experience to one of the most digitally-engaged fan bases on earth,” Johnny Aitken, chief executive officer of PointsBet USA, said in a news release. “The WNBA has done a phenomenal job with growing fan engagement, and PointsBet is excited to be a piece of that puzzle moving forward.”

For PointsBet

The PointsBet/WNBA partnership is a pretty standard one as far as Authorized Gaming Operator deals go. Under the agreement, PointsBet gains the right to use the WNBA brand, team logos and players’ images across its platforms to grow its brand awareness. PointsBet will get the usual brand visibility that is the cornerstone of such partnerships.

The company will integrate the WNBA into its extensive betting menu and in turn, gain the exposure critical to growing the betting provider’s brand. That exposure includes a presence before, during and after WNBA games on TV, radio, digital media, and on integrated social media content. Branded signage at WNBA venues will also be a big part of the deal.

For the WNBA

For the WNBA, they get the chance to maximize their total fan experience by adding a betting element to their viewership. PointsBet brings into the partnership a host of targeted fan promotions and betting opportunities for WNBA viewers.

“In owning and operating our technology from end to end, PointsBet can innovate our product and personalize our offerings according to fan interest and needs — WNBA supporters will appreciate this competitive advantage, as well as our app’s market-leading speed and ease of use,” said Johnny Aitken.

Having a top-tier product doesn’t seem good enough anymore for sports teams or leagues in the US scene especially. Fan engagement through betting has become an essential part of any league’s growth strategy going forward and the WNBA brass is inherently aware of that fact.

“Innovating at the WNBA and enhancing the fan experience starts with recognizing how our fans want to interact with the players, teams, and the league, and PointsBet will enhance a second screen experience that digitally engaged fans are looking for,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in the release. “We’re excited to partner with PointsBet to continue expanding in the sports betting space and look forward to the innovative ideas they will bring to our game.”

The PointsBet Brand Explosion

It seems that there are no limits to where the PointsBet brass is willing to take the company as they try to cement themselves as an elite provider within the US legal sports betting space.

The company in August became the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports and in February, PointsBet announced an Official Sports Betting Partnership with the NHL. PointsBet received an equity stake in both. They are live in all the biggest states in the US market including New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan with little reason to think their expansion is done.

The WNBA is another “Win” for PointsBet and for the basketball league itself. Expect more such deals for both brands in the future as the US legal sports betting scene continues to explode.