- The Philadelphia 76ers have announced a multi-year partnership with Super Group owned Betway making them an ‘Official Partner’ of the NBA team.
- This is the third partnership with an NBA team that Betway has announced within the past month joining the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks.
- Betway offers mobile sports betting in five US states including Pennsylvania. Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, and New Jersey are the others.
A few days ago we reported that Super Group owned sports betting provider Betway had signed a promotional deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. That deal dropped roughly a week after their previous NBA sponsorship deal with the Dallas Mavericks. When we said that Betway was ‘aggressively’ leveraging promotional partnerships to build their brand we weren’t kidding–that’s why it isn’t a huge surprise that they’re at it again. Earlier today they announced yet another promotional partnership, this time with the Philadelphia 76ers. Betway has inked a multi-year deal making them an ‘Official Partner’ of the team.
Unlike the two deals previously announced this month, Betway is already live in Pennsylvania. Betway has been pursuing a strategy of signing partnership deals with teams in markets that haven’t come out of the sports betting ‘dark ages’ like Texas and Minnesota. In theory, we like the idea of getting involved in yet-to-be regulated sports betting markets for a variety of reasons. It helps build the Betway brand while positioning them for future opportunities in these states. It also demonstrates in no uncertain terms the potential economic upside for states that do sports betting right.
On the other hand, a more conventional partnership in an existing market offers a quicker return on investment for a sportsbook. Pennsylvania is one of five states where Betway is live with mobile sports betting along with Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, and New Jersey. Not exactly a coincidence that these are the states where we often see positive developments in the sports betting ecosystem. Technically speaking, Pennsylvania isn’t on the level of Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, and New Jersey due to a less than competitive licensing scheme and an absurd 36% tax rate. Pennsylvania is in the same category with Illinois–they are ‘too big to fail’ despite politicians’ best efforts to the contrary. Pennsylvania is the fifth largest US state by population (12,801,989 as of 7/19) with Illinois right behind them in sixth place (12,671,821). Were it not for the greed and short sighted hubris of politicians in Pennsylvania and Illinois they would likely be doing the same amount of business as New Jersey which has approximately 4 million fewer citizens.
As part of the deal, there will be plenty of Betway signage throughout the Wells Fargo Center (which the press release refers to as ‘The Center’, no doubt due to the fact that the arena has its own sportsbook deal with Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers brand). Since the NHL Philadelphia Flyers also have a deal with BetRivers you’ll only see the Betway branding in the arena during ‘locally televised’ Sixers’ games. Since 73 of the team’s 82 regular season games are shown live on NBCSports Philadelphia that’s most of them. More specifically, Betway branding will appear on “team bench aprons, courtside LEDs and basket stanchion LEDS throughout the games. Betway’s marks will also be seen on TV-visible signage alongside the scorers’ table.”
The deal will also include social media promotion as outlined by the press release:
The partnership includes a social media sweepstakes for fans to enter for the chance to win 76ers home game tickets. The 76ers Ticket Giveaway is open for entry now. Fans can enter and learn more about the sweepstakes by visiting @betwayusa on Twitter.
76ers will also provide Betway with exposure and brand recognition through the 76ers’ official Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts. Prior to each regular season 76ers game, Betway will sponsor a Pre-Game Stats Graphic that will include relevant statistics giving fans pre-game insights, while 76ers social media will promote Betway marketing initiatives.
Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway, is excited to be partnering with the Philadelphia 76ers:
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Philadelphia 76ers. As the Betway brand is licensed in Pennsylvania, this is not just a branding opportunity but a chance for us to engage with fans who will also be able to access our product. With an extensive list of marketing assets associated with the deal, we are sure this will be a very successful partnership.”
And just as thrilled as Werkman is Owen Morin, Philadelphia 76ers Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, who said these nice things about Betway:
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Betway. As a leader in sports betting across leagues and teams, Betway is best-in-class and provides their customers with premiere betting offerings. Together we will bring elite experiences to 76ers fans.”
There’s still a few days left in October so we very well might see more Betway/NBA team partnerships drop before the end of the month.
