NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in Las Vegas. Photo credit: Daniel Clark/LVSportsBiz.com
Gambling 

MGM Resorts Scores Another Sports Gambling Deal — This Time, It’s the NHL

Alan Snel ,

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International made another splash in the sports gambling arena by cutting a deal with the National Hockey League to become the league’s official sports betting partner.

 

Under the multi-year agreement, MGM Resorts can market many of its hotel-casinos to NHL fans and use NHL branding in its land-based and digital sports betting offerings within the U.S.

 

The addition of the Vegas Golden Knights to the 31-team league and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in May to remove barriers and allow states outside Nevada to enact sports gambling legislation and regulations were likely factors that created the climate for his MGM Resorts-NHL deal.

Golden Knights celebrate Sunday’s IT win over Ottawa. Photo credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell/:VSportsBiz.com

 

The MGM Resorts-NHL sports gambling deal comes only three months after the MGM and the NBA announced a sports gambling deal that made MGM the NBA’s official sports gambling partner.

 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and MGM Resorts Chairman/CEO Jim Murren made the deal announcement in New York Monday morning.

 

In a press release, Murren offered this statement: “We couldn’t be more excited to enter into this historic partnership with the NHL. The League is home to some of the most exciting action in sports, and we are thrilled to join with them to create new immersive and exhilarating experiences for hockey fans.

 

“Combining MGM Resorts’ world-class sports betting operations and technology with the NHL’s top-level competition, iconic brands and cutting-edge data will further transform the rapidly growing sports betting marketplace and solidify our position at the forefront of the industry.”

 

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Bettman was quoted in the press release: “The new sports betting landscape presents a unique opportunity for fan engagement utilizing technology and data that are exclusive to our League.

 

“As a leading global gaming operator and entertainment company, MGM Resorts is the perfect partner for us to begin our transformative entry into this space. Fan engagement, technological advancement and innovation are paramount to our progressive approach and will be at the forefront of everything we do.”

 

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

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