By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
After sports betting veterans and industry insiders blasted a Vegas Golden Knights sponsorship deal this week with Mexico-based betting tout operation UpickTrade.com, the Golden Knights confirmed Saturday that the NHL team has pulled the plug on the sponsorship agreement.
From the start, the deal drew criticism from sports betting industry people who cited potential integrity problems with the Golden Knights inking a deal with UpickTrade, which sells picks for $89.
To be diplomatic, tout — or sports betting recommendation — services do not have the greatest of reputations and sports betting veterans raised issues about whether UpickTrade would recommend against the Golden Knights or possibly get inside info like injury situations from the team.
The optics were bad from the start and the Golden Knights ended the deal after only three days. The UpickTrade site still had a Golden Knights logo on the website even after Saturday’s VGK announcement that the deal was off.
There was not a person at the Golden Knights who was quoted for the statement. Instead, it was attributed to the Vegas Golden Knights organization, “The Vegas Golden Knights have ended their sponsorship agreement with UpickTrade. The organization will not have additional comments at this time.”
On Wednesday, the Golden Knights had sent out this press release:
It didn’t take long for people in the betting industry to take notice.
The Golden Knights have more than a 100 sponsorship deals and they represent key income at a time when all the teams in the NHL have been taking a financial hit because of limited or no fans at hockey games.
As for UpickTrade, ESPN reported that a spokesman said, “We are still in shock about the decision.”
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