NBA Expands Ontario Presence By Partnering With Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation

As legal sports betting in Ontario continues to flourish, the NBA has signed their first partnership agreement with a sportsbook. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s sportsbook ProLine+ is now an official sports betting partner of the NBA, and the two sides announced the agreement in tandem with the NBA Draft where ProLine+ took action for the first time. 

ProLine+  completes the grand slam of major sports league partnerships

It is the off season for NBA players, but the league is still doing business as they have announced an official partnership agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to make their ProLine+ sportsbook an official betting partner of the NBA. The NBA is the last of the four major US-based sports leagues to expand their operations into online gambling in Canada with a ProLine+ partnership. Securing a deal with the NBA gives the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation the grand slam in terms of their major partnership arrangements, and while none of the deals are exclusive, for the time being they have a leg up on their competition in the burgeoning Ontario legal sports betting marketplace.

The expanded partnership arrangement allows for ProLine+ to utilize trademarks from the NBA and all of its teams, as well as facilitating with official legaure collaboration for content related to betting on NBA games. In addition, ProLine+ benefits from the use of the league’s official betting data. OLG’s PlaySmart responsible gambling program that educates players on the fundamentals of gambling as well as providing resources to help prevent problem gambling is sure to benefit from the additional content opportunities. The NBA will benefit from the agreement both financially as well as in taking advantage of the opportunity to increase fan engagement with their on-court product.

The growth of an already existing relationship

The two entities have worked together on a variety of projects in the past on a smaller scale. Notably, the two sides collaborated on the NBA Winner’s Corner, an immersive fan experience designed to showcase the history of the NBA Finals. Kuljeet Sindhar, Associate Vice  President of INternational Gaming & Data Ventures for the NBA said of the partnership: “This expanded relationship marks the latest iteration of our deeply valued long-term relationship with OLG. We are delighted to continue to work together with the OLG to innovate around the fan experience in a new era for Ontario sports betting.”

There was plenty of excitement and optimism on the side of OLG. Their Chief Digital and Strategy Officer Dave Pridmore said “Continuing our partnership with an incredible organization like the NBA will help OLG create new excitement and opportunities for basketball fans on ProLine+ and ProLine at retail. We’re thrilled to offer wagering on the NBA Draft for the first time while bringing our valued sports bettors even closer to the game through exclusive content and gameplay.”. With that in mind, we’re hoping that the best online casino apps in Canada begin to offer plenty of extras for NBA fans.

Major progress in a short period of time

Sports betting has been fully legal in Ontario for less than three months, but it has not taken long for operators or major sports leagues to take advantage of the large pool of enthusiastic sports bettors. With all four major US-based sports leagues on board as well as both the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors signing sportsbook partnerships of their own, it is clear there is enthusiasm on all sides for the partnerships like this to flourish.

This partnership is exciting for bettors with all the potential the unique offerings the two sides have. If they are anything like the impressive NBA Winner’s Corner exhibit in 2019, even fans who don’t wager on the games will still find plenty to enjoy about the two sides expanding their relationship.

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