Multi-year agreement
Bally’s Corporation has entered an official sports betting partnership with the Nashville Predators, with the NHL team announcing the new agreement via Twitter on Thursday:
Through an arrangement that will be in place until 2025, Bally’s is now an official sports betting partner and the official free-to-play partner of the team and their home stadium, Bridgestone Arena. Bally’s will get access to the franchise’s intellectual property, marks, logos, and certain types of content rights.
an official sports betting partner and the official free-to-play partner
The deal marks the first partnership of this kind that the operator has entered with a professional sports team in Tennessee, as well as being its first deal with an NHL franchise. The operator’s Bally Bet online sportsbook is set to launch in Tennessee next year.
Aiming to boost fan engagement
The agreement will see Bally’s launch the free-to-play game Smashville Selector shortly, giving fans the opportunity to win unique prizes.
Nashville Predators chief revenue officer and executive vice president Chris Junghans said the franchise has been looking at collaborating with dynamic companies to help boost fan engagement since sports betting launched in Tennessee. He added: “Bally’s unique approach to content integration and brand alignment through their broadcast partnerships is going to be a game changer.”
Bally’s Interactive chief operating officer Adi Dhandhania spoke about the special place that the Nashville Predators have in the hearts of Tennessee sports fans. He said the home arena “will be a great venue in which to market our brand, especially when combined with Predators game broadcasts on Bally Sports South.”
The two parties
Bally’s has been looking at striking strategic partnerships in numerous states across the country. The operator also has a multi-year arrangement with the NHL itself. It already has its online sportsbooks up and running in both Iowa and Colorado, in addition to having market access in numerous other states.
Besides its sports betting operations, Bally’s Corporation has an extensive portfolio of gambling divisions and operations, which includes its ownership and operation of 14 casinos in ten states.
Its new partners in Tennessee have been part of the NHL since 1998, when it became the 27th team to enter the league. The Nashville Predators have not yet won the Stanley Cup, but they did get to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.
Bally’s is not the only sports betting operator to have a relationship with the hockey franchise. In December 2020, DraftKings became an official sports betting partner and daily fantasy sports partner of the Predators.
