The NHL Is Reportedly Going "All In" On Gambling
A few hours ago there was breaking news that Jordie already blogged, the NHL will be holding a press conference on Monday that involves sports gambling. Then boom, a bombshell from Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston who is reporting that the NHL will go “all in” on sports gambling. Huge news for the NHL, Huge news for Sports Gambling, and huge news for Sports as we know it.
It was reported yesterday that the Devils will allow sports betting at games and will team up with a sports book to make it happen. Which I thought was monumental, then this news breaks less than a day later. The NHL is buzzzzzing.
It’s been reported before that Gary Bettman has been adamant on getting a cut of the money from gamblers, not sure if that will be the case when they announce this news on Monday, but it seems a bit unlikely.
There were also reports in early October that the NHL could generate upwards of $200m from the Gambling industry.
On the heels of a sports betting hearing on Capitol Hill, the U.S. casino industry released new findings to show that the National Hockey League will see a financial windfall from legal sports betting. The NHL annual revenue “may increase” by $216 million annually due to widely available, legal and regulated sports betting, according to a Nielsen Sports study commissioned by the American Gaming Association. (via cardplayer.com)
The article went on to say:
The Nielsen study analyzed revenue streams that sports betting could generate for the NHL: revenue as a result of spending from betting operators on advertising, data and sponsorship, and revenue generated as a result of increased consumption of the league’s media and products.
According to Nielsen Sports, greater fan engagement and viewership could boost the NHL’s total annual revenue from media rights, sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales by 3.5 percent, producing $151 million in new revenue from increased consumption of the league’s products.
Legal sports betting could help the NHL generate an additional $65 million in revenue as a result of spending by betting operators and data providers. The study projects that gaming operators may spend $24 million on advertising, which will directly increase the league’s rights fees by the same amount. An additional $35 million in sponsorship revenue and $6 million in data is also projected for the league and its teams. (via cardplayer.com)
That’s a lot of money the NHL could make off this shit. This would change the game. I have a ton of questions though, as I’m sure everyone does. What will happen in the states where gambling is still illegal? What will happen to the CBA? Who will get a cut of the money? Will the salary cap go up? And I’m sure all of these will be answered come Monday. But let me just say this is monumental in gambling and in hockey.
I say it in basically every blog, the NHL needs to do something to engage their fans more. They are missing something and this could be it. The NBA has been talking for months, since basically January how they plan to take on gambling as it comes closer to legalization so I’m excited to see the NHL embrace it as well. Hopefully we see other major professional sports next.