- Game On sports betting gift cards have been approved for use in New York and Louisiana.
- The cards can be used to fund betting account with participating sports books.
- Game On cards debuted in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2020.
Blackhawk Network is a big player in prepaid cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, etc–what is known as the ‘branded payments’ industry. Over the past few years, they’ve moved into the sports betting market. They launched the Game On cards in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in late 2020 and announced the launch of their Game On gift card product in Colorado and Indiana last August. They’re essentially gift cards that allow sports bettors to fund accounts at participating sportsbooks.
The company has just announced that they’ve received approval from regulators in Louisiana and New York to provide payment services for sports betting. Although this is primarily the Game On card, the press release announcing the approval made it sound like other payment solutions could be in the pipeline:
As the sports betting industry continues to grow by double digits1, new innovations in the payment and customer acquisition space will be critical to the industry’s success. Today, Blackhawk Network announced it has received approval by the New York Gaming Commission as well as the State of Louisiana to provide its payments and sports betting gift card services in these states, which includes Blackhawk’s original Game On® card, a gift card featuring multiple sportsbook brands that allows consumers to easily add funds to their accounts with select sports betting operators.
DraftKings launched a branded gift card in December 2020 but the Game On card allows players to post up at any of several sportsbooks–in Colorado, for example, they’re currently accepted at BetMGM, DraftKings, Fan Duel and BetRivers. Hopefully, they’ll bring some more of Colorado’s 20+ (and counting) online sports betting providers on board as well. The Companies that are nominally in competition working together to make things better for the betting public and industry as a whole is something that is long overdue.
The cards will soon be appearing in New York and Louisiana, and can also be purchased in digital form at GetGameOn.com. More additional states are expected to be added to the roster pending the requisite regulatory approvals.
Steve Dekker, Managing Director, Americas at Blackhawk Network, did the honors with the company quote in the press release:
“As a branded payments provider for many top retailers, we’re bullish about providing our partners with the most compelling and on-trend gift card content, which now includes our Game On cards and other single-branded sports betting products. As New York, Louisiana, and other states upon approval continue growth in the gaming category, we’re pleased to be able to provide retailers with another option for players to spend, budget and also gift the entertainment of sports betting.”
Obviously, making the deposit process as frictionless as possible is good for the sports betting industry in general. Meanwhile, Nevada is still holding on to their archaic ‘in person registration’ requirement to set up a mobile sportsbook account.
