Gambling News Flash – 888 Partners with Sports Illustrated
Another week, another set of new partnerships for sportsbooks. The landscape in the United States – and New Jersey especially – is as competitive as ever and now another contender is making headlines after striking a big deal. That’s where we’ll start this week’s casino news.
888, Sports Illustrated New Partnership
Despite what many expected, 888 Holdings was very cautious when it came to the sports betting market. They were one of the first companies that burst onto the gambling scene in the U.S. but haven’t made as much noise lately even though many states are starting to legalize sports betting. It appears they have waited long enough, though, as they’ve struck a major deal with one of the biggest brands in sports media.
The company has partnered with Sports Illustrated in what they call a “smart and selective” partnership. That will all 888 to be featured on all of Sports Illustrated’s products, including the website, video content as well as the magazine.
As part of the deal, Sports Illustrated will now have a partial ownership stake in 888 Holdings and the current plan is to launch a Sports Illustrated sportsbook towards the end of 2021. That will be powered by 888’s platform. It’ll be interesting to see what impact this has as a number of big partnerships like this are taking place, including SportsBetting.com partnering with Maxim.
Chicago Bears Agree To Partner With Rivers Casino
Speaking of big sports partnerships, the Chicago Bears have decided to jump right into the gambling world with a brand-new sponsorship deal with Rivers Casino. This casino happens to be located in Des Plaines and is now going to be the official casino of the Bears organization. BetRivers is also going to be the exclusive sportsbook of the team as well, so look for their patch on the gear as well as many other areas where the two can have synergy.
Chicago has recognized the changing times around all major sporting leagues and chose to jump right alongside them. We’ve seen a sportsbook open up at the Washington Nationals stadium and a number of other companies are looking to do the same. The Bears are just one of many sports franchises that have now joined forces with a sportsbook.
Although the exclusive sportsbook and primary casino aren’t the only things that the Rivers Casino gets out of this deal. They will have “digital, social and print assets” in the Chicago Bears stadium as well. That information was revealed during one of their recent press conferences.
Startup That Allows You To Trade Sporting Events Grows Rapidly
There’s a new way to bet on sports and given the innovation, it could stand out from a very crowded field.
Sporttrade is a new sport betting exchange where all users are able to swap sports bets just like they would with stocks. The app tries to mix things up a small bit than most traditional sportsbooks. Instead of each player going up against the house, they are instead lined up against one another. While this isn’t new to the offshore market or in the United Kingdom, this type of betting exchange would be one of the first in the United States. Investors are interested as the early numbers that they have been able to reel in have been announced and they are pretty phenomenal.
Sporttrade was able to raise $36 million, with huge contributions from Jump Capital and NASDAQ Ventures. The company is now planning on creating an official website and expanding into New Jersey during the summer of 2021.
The company also has high hopes of expanding into other states as well, but they want to handle things one at a time first. Their founder, Alex Kane, stated that “We’re turning sporting events into the next major asset class.” Sporttrade is something that hasn’t ever been done before and it could continue to grow rapidly over the next few years.