Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s 76ers and the NHL’s Devils, has partnered on a multi-year deal with Caesars Entertainment that will include a premium, 5,000-square-foot Caesars Club inside the Prudential Center in downtown Newark. The 76ers become the first NBA team with a franchise-level casino partnership.
The Devils make their home in New Jersey, and the 76ers draw many suburban Philadelphia fans from southern Jersey, where sports betting is legal and growing rapidly. Caesars, which ranks No. 1 in gaming revenue in North America, has opened a sports book at two Atlantic City casinos and also has launched the Caesars Casino & Sports app for online wagering.
“With a partnership that synergistically bookends the state of New Jersey, Caesars Entertainment can connect with engaged sports and live event fans to promote its new sportsbook and mobile sports betting app throughout the Garden State,” said Adam Davis, HBSE CRO, in a statement.
Sportsbook operator William Hill also recently became a team sponsor of the Devils and will create a branded lounge on the main concourse where fans can congregate while they use online apps to place bets. The Prudential Center hosts more than 175 events each year in addition to Devils games. Caesars-owned Horseshoe Casino recently partnered with the NFL’s Ravens.
Signage at the home venues of both franchises will promote Caesars, although sports betting is currently only legal at Devils games. Though Pennsylvania’s state legislature has approved sports betting, no sports books are operational yet. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reportedly will rule on a license regarding an application from William Hill on Wednesday, which could be up and running in a month.
SportTechie Takeaway
While the NBA and NHL have both announced league-wide sponsorship agreements with MGM, the 76ers are the first NBA team to have its own casino deal. And the Devils are the first to have two, with both Caesars and William Hill staking a physical presence on the Prudential Center concourse. Neither will be a true sportsbook, but the proliferation of mobile betting trumps that anyway.