BetMGM‘s marketing strategy in Canada to this point has been to target hockey bettors, but now its focus is shifting to the gridiron. The online operator announced Tuesday it has become an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League in Canada.
The new multiyear partnership will position BetMGM for future activations in Canada and expand upon the operator’s pre-existing relationship with the NFL. As part of the deal, BetMGM acquires the rights to use the official NFL marks in Canada, and it can advertise on NFL-operated digital platforms throughout the region.
The news comes just weeks before the start of the NFL regular season on Sept. 8.
“Expanding our partnership with the NFL into Canada sets the stage for amazing opportunities as we begin the upcoming football season,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt in a press release. “We’re already seeing great interest from our Ontario customers and this collaboration truly elevates the BetMGM experience.”
BetMGM was one of the first operators to launch in Ontario‘s new regulated iGaming and online sports betting market in April. Ontario regulators still haven’t released initial revenue reports, but Greenblatt did report during June’s Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto that 70 million transactions were made at BetMGM’s sportsbook in the month of May by users in the province.
In February, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation became the NFL’s first official sportsbook partner in Canada, inking an exclusive five-year deal to be the league’s official retail lottery and sportsbook partner in Ontario. OLG offers sports bettors in the province retail and online sports betting markets through its PROLINE products.
Other Canadian partnerships
BetMGM previously paired up with two iconic Canadian hockey legends: Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid. Gretzky, an all-time NHL great, signed on as a brand ambassador with BetMGM in June 2021.
McDavid, one of hockey’s brightest young stars and a generational talent, later joined the brand last March, just one month before the launch of Ontario’s regulated online sports betting market. The Edmonton Oilers captain was the first active major-league sports star to partner with a legal sportsbook.
Here’s a clip of our newest ambassador just doing normal everyday things on the ice pic.twitter.com/MoUcidLeBo
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 4, 2022
Hockey is one of the most popular sports for Canadians to bet on, although basketball has seen a surge in local interest since April. The NFL is also expected to be very popular with bettors in Ontario and throughout Canada this fall.
So far, Ontario is the only Canadian province to adopt an open sports betting model. In other provinces, legal sports betting is available only through provincial lottery corporations. However, many Canadian residents also wager with gray market operators.
