PointsBet’s marketing partnership with the University of Maryland is over, the operator has announced. The deal, terminated in late April, was technically signed between PointsBet and Maryland Sports Properties, a Playfly Sports property that worked with the university.
“PointsBet and Playfly Sports have reached a mutual agreement to end their sponsorship at the University of Maryland,” a PointsBet spokesperson told Sports Handle.
The partnership, which was announced in December 2021, drew scrutiny from Maryland lawmakers in recent months. State legislators worried the deal between the operator and university matched a controversial partnership between PointsBet and the University of Colorado that became the subject of a recent New York Times story on sports betting.
The deal with Colorado included financial incentives for the university when new users signed up for PointsBet via a promotional code. The sportsbook and university ended the agreement there at the end of March.
PointsBet and the University of Maryland had no such incentivized deal, but it concerned lawmakers that nothing prevented those types of deals from being formed in the future. Maryland legislators enacted a law this session that prohibits any deals between colleges and sportsbook operators that include financial incentives for sign-ups.
Lawmakers were also frustrated that PointsBet made the deal through Playfly Sports, a third party working with the University of Maryland. This kept the details of the deal unavailable to the general public. The new law includes language that would make the details of deals between operators and universities public.
The law had not been expected to force an end to the University of Maryland’s relationship with PointsBet, but the two sides decided it made sense to end the partnership.
Other deals unraveling?
In late March, the American Gaming Association unveiled guidelines suggesting that sportsbook operators avoid partnerships with colleges and universities. While the AGA isn’t a rule-making body, the guidelines might be influencing the opinions of some universities and operators. The termination of the PointsBet deals with universities has drawn some approval from advocates for responsible gambling.
“Every college should [have] comprehensive gambling addiction prevention, treatment and research programs because students and particularly student athletes are at higher risk for gambling problems,” Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, told Sports Handle via email. “Colleges who have partnerships with gambling companies must have even more extensive programs. As we did not see the University of Maryland had or was developing such programs, we are glad the partnership is ending.”
In early April, shortly after the release of the AGA guidelines, Michigan State University faculty circulated a petition calling on the university to end its partnership with Caesars. Those messages seem to have been heard.
The Athletic reported this month that Michigan State and Caesars “inactivated” their partnership in late April, removing signage and promotional materials. The partnership is in the process of being formally ended, according to the report. Neither Michigan State nor Caesars responded to requests for comment from Sports Handle.
“We believe there is a concentration of risk in these partnerships and we are glad stakeholders are moving away from them,” Whyte said.
Additionally, The Athletic reported that Caesars signage was removed at LSU, where the operator also has a partnership, but the future of that sportsbook-university relationship is unclear.
The deals Caesars created with Michigan State and LSU were both facilitated by Playfly Sports. Playfly Sports also did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the partnerships.
