The NHL and William Hill jointly announced Thursday that the sportsbook operator will be an “Official Sports Betting Partner.”
It’s the third official betting deal the league has done, joining MGM and FanDuel, and the first for William Hill, which last September made history by signing an official sportsbook deal with the Las Vegas Knights, the first such deal between a major American pro sports team and a sportsbook.
The deal will give William Hill the right to use the league’s intellectual property in promotions, along with the ability to promote their relationship with the NHL in markets where they seek to reach sports bettors.
The sportsbook — which runs more than 100 operations in Nevada, and has both physical sportsbooks and a mobile app in New Jersey — said in the news release that betting on the NHL increased 38 percent during the 2018-19 season at its Nevada books, which could be largely attributed to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights making it all the way to the Stanley Cup in their first season.
Along with the Knights deal, William Hill has a sponsorship with the New Jersey Devils, which includes a 1,200 square foot area inside the Prudential Center, where the goal is to get fans to download the William Hill app onto their phones. While their are no kiosks or walk up betting windows, fans can bet on their phones while inside the arena.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman strongly fought the legalization of sports betting even after awarding a franchise in Las Vegas. He said in September, he was forced to reverse course after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in May 2018.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the deal gave William Hill access to the NHL's data feed, which was incorrect.
