PointsBet Canada and the NHL Alumni Association jointly announced a new partnership Monday.
PointsBet is now the exclusive sports betting partner of the NHLAA in Canada and also an official partner of the association in the United States. It’s a multi-year deal that grants PointsBet Canada the marketing and licensing rights to the NHLAA and its over 1,000 alumni across North America.
“The NHL Alumni Association has always been at the top of our list as PointsBet entered Canada,” said Nic Sulsky, chief commercial officer of PointsBet Canada, in a press release. “Saturday night hockey is an institution from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Being able to partner with the likes of Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mike Vernon, and the countless other NHL alumni that skated across our screens will allow us to deliver the authentically Canadian gaming experience that we want to bring sports fans.”
The NHLAA, established in 1999, is a charitable organization devoted to bettering the lives of all former NHL players and their families. The organization provides financial assistance, mental and emotional wellness support, physical care, post-playing career transition, and family aid. The NHLAA has the largest membership of retired professional hockey players in the world and is well known for its Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.
“What made the partnership with PointsBet Canada so attractive was their appreciation of what makes our alumni unique,” said Glenn Healy, president and executive director of the NHLAA. “From the very beginning, PointsBet Canada understood our mission at the NHLAA, which is to ‘Honour the Past’ and provide hope and help for all NHL alumni and their families. … It was clear in all of our conversations that PointsBet would play within the rules as a responsible gaming operator, and they were willing to partner with our players to deliver this important message to Canadians.”
PB focused on Canadian market
Australian-based PointsBet has created a Canadian division — PointsBet Canada — that is operating out of Toronto, Ontario. The company appointed Scott Vanderwel as chief executive officer last summer. Vanderwel, who previously served as senior vice president for Rogers Communications, hails from nearby Oakville, Ontario. PointsBet has its North American headquarters in Colorado and is the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports. Ontario is expected to open its market to private operators, like PointsBet Canada, sometime in Q1 of this year.
“We are fully supportive of government efforts to create a regulated gaming environment because it will create a level playing field that not only protects consumers, but eliminates the illegal and gray market,” said Vanderwel. “We are thrilled to be able to join the NHLAA to use our collective voice to promote safe wagering as a legal operator.”
PointsBet already established sports betting partnerships this fall with Curling Canada and two of its teams: Team Kevin Koe and Team Kerrie Einarson. PointsBet is also an official sports betting partner of the NHL.
