- The NHL has announced that Czech Republic-based Tipsport is the league’s first sports betting partner in Europe.
- Tipsport is now an official betting partner of the league and the NHL’s ‘official sportsbook’ in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- Tipsport has also partnered with Nova Sport TV–the NHL’s broadcast partner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The National Hockey League has a huge following in Central and Eastern Europe particularly in countries like the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and Latvia. For that reason, today’s announcement that the NHL has named their first sports betting partner in Europe is likely overdue. The league has named Czech Republic based Tipsport as an official sports betting partner joining William Hill, BetMGM and FanDuel.
The multi-year deal makes Tipsport an ‘official sports betting partner’ of the league as well as the ‘official sportsbook of the NHL’ in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. By now, you likely know the deal but here’s what Tipsport will get out of the relationship:
As part of the relationship, Tipsport will have access to the game data generated by the NHL’s new puck and player tracking technology to enhance its gaming statistics and live odds.
Tipsport may conduct marketing campaigns utilizing NHL branding across a range of the company’s digital sports betting offerings in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Tipsport will also receive premiere marketing positions on NHL.com/cs and NHL.com/sk, which are the Czech- and Slovak-language versions of NHL.com. In addition, Tipsport may leverage promotional opportunities in connection with the NHL’s calendar of marquee events including Global Series games in the Czech Republic or Slovakia in future seasons.
Tipsport has also partnered with Nova Sport TV–they’re the official broadcast partner of the NHL in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That deal will have the Tipsport brand promoted across the Nova Sport TV NHL broadcast and on social media as well as logo visibility in the network’s new NHL TV studio.
John Lewicki, NHL’s vice president of business development and partnerships, international, got to give the press release quote on behalf of the league:
“The sports betting landscape presents a unique opportunity for fan engagement in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, utilizing technology and data that are proprietary to the NHL.”
“As a sports betting leader in the Czech and Slovak markets, Tipsport is an ideal partner for us to begin our entry into this space in Europe and provides a tremendous opportunity to further fan engagement around the globe.”
On balance, these kind of deals are a good thing–particularly in the North American market. It’s not a good idea to generalize about European opinions at the risk of over-homogenizing a sizable group of countries with unique cultures. That being said, Europe as a whole is likely more comfortable with sports betting partnering with teams and leagues. That concept is new in the US and the greater extent to which that occurs helps pave the way for future growth in the market.
