The National Basketball Association is taking its gambling partnerships overseas.
On Tuesday, the league struck a multi-year partnership with Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), making it the NBA’s first-ever European gaming partner.
The past few weeks have been filled with similar partnerships between major casino gaming operators and the NBA and National Hockey League (NHL).
But the NBA partnering with France’s national lottery shows how far leagues have come since the US Supreme Court did away with the federal ban on sports wagering.
Terms of the deal
Here’s what Vandana Balachandar, NBA EME Vice President of Global Partnerships had to say:
“We are excited to partner with Fancaise des Jeux, the market leader in sports betting in France. This collaboration will result in the best possible gaming and entertainment experience for consumers through the use of accurate, official, real-time NBA data, and demonstrates our collective efforts to maintain the integrity of our games.”
The exclusive partnership allows FDJ to use official league data, promote branding across land-based and digital platforms and create best practices to protect the integrity of NBA games.
Head of Gaming Operations for FDJ, Richard Courtois said:
“Partnering with the NBA, the most prestigious basketball league in the world, will allow ParionsSport to get even closer to the action and offer a more refined gaming experience for gamers enabling us to reach yet more fans.”
Through FDJ’s gaming brand, ParionsSport, promotion and branding will be spread across 27,000 retail locations in France.
Additionally, exposure will include NBA’s digital assets such as NBA.com, NBA App and NBA France social media platforms.
“Basketball is one of the most popular sports globally, and as a result of this partnership with the NBA, it will become even more popular and inspirational for our customers,” Courtois said.
What’s next for the NBA
Dan Spillane, NBA’s senior vice president of governance and policy told GamblingCompliance last week the league will continue to strike private agreements with gaming operators and work on public policy on a state-by-state level.
It appears that the NBA will continue to push for an integrity fee to be included in future sports betting bills across the country.
There are a number of jurisdictions that are looking to pass sports betting bills, making 2019 critical for professional sports leagues. Here are the ones where efforts appear to be closest to becoming reality.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- New York
- Louisiana
- Washington, D.C.
However, this will certainly not be the end of sports franchises and professional leagues partnering with gambling operators like MGM Resorts, Caesars, FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook.
