Caesars Inks Deal With Philadelphia 76ers

There's always a first, they say, and this year, there was plenty of “firsts” in the U.S. With the liberalization of the iGaming market, especially the portion pertaining to sports betting – the latest craze to sweep from Atlantic to Pacific coast – pioneering movements have become quite an ordinary thing.

Add another one to that pile as Caesars Entertainment becomes the first casino operator to form a branding partnership with an NBA franchise – namely, the Philadelphia 76ers.

A Three-Pointer

The historic agreement has been signed on Tuesday, October 30th, and it marks a completely new alliance between an NBA team and a casino operator...

...a huge success for Caesars, seeing as only days prior to that, they've secured an almost identical deal in NHL – by teaming up with the legendary New Jersey Devils. To illuminate, both NBA and NFL teams are owned by Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, led by businessman Joshua Harris.

The details of this agreement are not quite public yet, but it is known that Caesars will be placing their ads and other material at home games venue for 76ers games – Wells Fargo Center, while fans will have a chance of winning a vacation to Caesars Atlantic City or The LINQ in Las Vegas.

Deal With the Devils

More is known about their agreement with the NHL side – Prudential Center, where New Jersey Devils play their home games. The arena will soon gain Caesars Club – a 5,000 square foot restaurant which will promote operator's presence at the venue.

Interestingly enough, The Club will not be the first lounge of its kind inside the stadium – they were beaten by a short margin by William Hill who signed a deal with the Devils only last week...

...this will yield the Hill's Sports Lounge which will “feel like a sportsbook”, although no sports betting will take place inside of the lounge, with TV games broadcasts and mobile bets available nearby.

Las Vegas Golden Knights have secured a similar deal with the operator months ago while MGM Resorts also stepped into the partnership with NHL, becoming the official sports betting partner for the league.

Changing Landscape

MGM Resorts will be gaining access to NHL's latest tracking data and there will be no integrity fee involved, as NHL officials are strongly opposing the fee which was a center of a lot of discussions between Senate representatives and professional leagues' chairmen.

In NFL, Dallas Cowboys made history in September when they became the first professional football team to sign a partnership with a casino operator, namely WinStar World Casino Resort...

The alliance between the parlor, betting companies, and professional sports teams is a new and very dynamic development, as it presents an unprecedented change in relations between professional sports and gambling world. What are your thoughts on it? Shout it out in the comments below!

Source:

"Owner of Sixers and Devils, Caesars Entertainment sign sponsorship deal", John George, bizjournals.com, October 31st, 2018.