- The UFC is partnering with crypto based sportsbook Stake.com.
- The partnership names Stake.com the UFC’s official sports betting partner in Latin America and Asia.
- In early March, the UFC announced a North American sports betting deal with DraftKings .
Just a week or so ago, the UFC announced their first ever sports betting partnership with US based powerhouse DraftKings. DraftKings was named the UFC’s inaugural ‘Official Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Partner’ within the US and Canada. Among any number of other branding opportunities, the deal will see the debut of a DraftKings branded countdown clock on the cage:
One major component of the DraftKings branding that will be seen on UFC events is the promotion’s first ever round countdown clock. The clock will more often than not be seen on the cage as illustrated in the photo below but generally speaking the deal gives DraftKings ‘brand control over an installed clock in arenas where UFC events are held’.
It didn’t take the UFC long to announce their *second* official sports betting partner. This time, they’ve announced a deal with cryptocurrency casino/sportsbook Stake.com. The promotional deal is only for Latin America and Asia–in fact, if you go to Stake.com without using a VPN you’ll see that the site is blocked for US residents. Ah, the joys of living in a free country! Here’s a screenshot of the Stake.com sportsbook:
Here’s a blurb about the parameters of the deal from a press release:
As part of this partnership, UFC and Stake.com will collaborate to improve UFC’s betting experience at Stake, providing exclusive promotions, VIP experiences and producing exclusive social and digital content featuring UFC athletes, including UFC champion Israel Adesanya, who recently became Stake.com’s first-ever brand ambassador.
UFC Vice President of Global Partnerships Nick Smith is pleased to partner with an innovative crypto based sports betting platform:
“We’re thrilled to partner with an exciting and emerging platform like Stake.com to offer exclusive digital and social content to our fans, as well as an innovative gaming experience. UFC prides itself on being innovators, and Stake.com is a unique way for fans to experience the action and excitement of UFC.”
Milan Jovancevic, Stake’s Public Relationships Manager, is excited about the partnership as well:
“All of us at Stake are massive UFC enthusiasts. We’re excited to partner with such a dominant brand to deliver a one-of-a-kind betting experience and accelerate our global expansion. We could not be more thrilled with all the unique possibilities this partnership unlocks for both Stake players and UFC fans.”
The sportsbook at Stake.com is a partnership with Betradar’s managed trading services team. Here’s a bit more background on Stake.com and their relationship with Betradar:
Stake.com is a cryptocurrency casino that has in less than three years of operation taken more than 11 billion bets on its platform.
Stake has created an aggressive plan and in less than one year aims to be able to replicate its success within a new sportsbook product. For that, it decided to join forces with Betradar’s MTS team.
After securing exclusive deals with competitions like NBA, FIFA, NFL and NHL, Betradar is now diving into the cryptocurrency sphere with Stake’s agreement.
Eddie Miroslav, owner of the Stake platform, is looking forward to the venture ahead and feels excited to introduce sports to his casino players.
“With a look and feel that is exclusive to our platform, we are confident that our partnership with a data supplier of this calibre is going to fit the needs and wants of our substantial player base,” he said.
“We are aware of an already strong sport interest and knowledge within our community. We knew that spending several months working on this new site feature was going to be profitable for us.”
While it sucks that the site isn’t accessible by American clients that says more about the draconian nature of the US government than anything else. Good move all around and it’s particularly cool to see the UFC partnering with a crypto based casino/sportsbook.
