PointsBet USA Lands Key Maryland Sports Betting Partnerships

PointsBet struck a partnership with Maryland. The agreement includes an emphasis on gambling education and responsible gambling.

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: December 13, 2021 7:06 AM EST • 4 minute read

What's to come from PointsBet's latest partnership with Maryland?

Partnership deals within the exploding US legal sports betting industry have become a major story since the 2018 Supreme Court decision to overturn the blanket ban on sports betting across the country. The latest tie-up is a unique one and features one of the US legal sports betting heavyweights, PointsBet, and Maryland Sports Properties in the brand-new sports betting jurisdiction of Maryland.

The Australian-based book has officially signed a multi-year deal with parent company Playfly Sports. That puts the wagering provider in line to sponsor University of Maryland sports teams. It also makes PointsBet the first betting provider to align itself with a team in the Big Ten Conference.

PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken commented: “Investing in the University of Maryland athletics program expands our ability to impact local communities and the greater DMV region while also connecting PointsBet with alumni that remain actively involved in reverence to their alma mater."

What it all means

Sportsbook sponsorship deals can increase exposure within the bustling US legal sports betting scene. For the sportsbook in question, the team they signed on with, and the overall sports betting market in a participating jurisdiction. The PointsBet/Maryland Sports Properties agreement is no different.

PointsBet immediately gains valuable signage opportunities in and around XFINITY Center and Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium during all Maryland home games. A press release called it “fan-facing in-game and campus activations.”

PointsBet will also start immediately with a presence on all of Maryland’s media outlets. These include digital channels and sports radio network broadcasts. PointsBet is hoping to “flood the zone” with regard to mentions and exposure everywhere the University of Maryland teams happen to be.

Gambling education factor

As part of the PointsBet and Maryland deal, the sports betting provider has agreed to provide strategic responsible and problem gambling education to all those that will be impacted from the ground-breaking deal. That includes school staff, students, and fans of the teams.

“Sports betting education and safe gambling is key to our long-term strategy, as is making a tangible impact on the communities we invest in. We are proud to work with such a high-profile, storied university to further these objectives,” said Johnny Aitken.

Maryland Executive Associate Athletic Director and Chief Strategy Officer Brian Ullmann added: "With the announcement of our partnership with PointsBet through Maryland Sports Properties and Playfly Sports, we are looking forward to raising awareness and educating our student-athletes and University community about responsible gambling."

PointsBet has also committed to what they call a philanthropic component. It will come sometime in the near future.

Ramifications

The mainstreaming of the US legal sports betting industry has been moving at a remarkable pace. It is hardly a surprise anymore for universities to be pursuing sports betting partnerships. PointsBet has an existing partnership with the University of Colorado Buffaloes which was signed in 2020. Other sportsbooks are moving in on the college scene.

Caesars recently aligned itself with LSU athletics and has become the title sponsor of the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, and other sportsbooks are already tied to college programs.

It speaks to just how far legal sports betting has come in the last three years and the huge potential of such partnership deals in the future.

Building the Maryland presence

The Maryland sports betting industry is brand new. So, it should serve PointsBet well to get its name out there about the same time as the launch of the platform. That launch officially took place Thursday when Gov. Larry Hogan and former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann placed the first legal sports bets ever in the state, at BetMGM Sportsbook and Lounge inside MGM National Harbor.

PointsBet has certainly been proactive in the Maryland sports betting scene. Wednesday's announcement of their partnership deal with Maryland Sports Properties came the same day that Riverboat on the Potomac, which is partnered with PointsBet, was licensed by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission.

With NBC Sports in their corner, a host of pro sports teams, and now two college teams as partners, PointsBet is making a serious statement while building not only their Maryland presence but their US one as well.

Partnership deals within the US legal sports betting space aren’t going away. It is a good bet that PointsBet will be featured in more than their share going forward.

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Written by:
Dave Bonderoff

Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.