PartyPoker Shows Commitment to NJ Market, Signs Massive Partnership With Sixers and Devils
Anyone wondering if PartyPoker was really intent on recapturing its once-dominant position in the US online gambling market can set those questions aside, as the company announced a multi-million dollar marketing partnership with professional sports teams the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils today.
Full terms of the deal were not announced. But the outlines of the arrangement reveal that Party will be promoted at home games for both teams and receive extensive exposure during radio and television broadcasts.
Partnership raises promising possibilities for poker
Early reaction from players has been overwhelmingly positive. Two major themes dominate the responses; first, players appear excited about the potential for the partnership to attract a stream of recreational players to the Party / Borgata real money online poker network.
How many players will become clear with time, but between game attendance and game broadcasts, the Sixers and Devils easily reach well over 10 million viewers each season. And the demographic profile of a typical sports fan lines up quite nicely with the demographic likely to be interested in online gambling.
The second theme revolves around the sort of cross-promotional opportunities such a deal presents. Online poker players in the region are already daydreaming of winning courtside seats, luxury box access or interactions with their favorite sports stars via poker tournaments or casino promotions at New Jersey’s regulated online gambling sites.
Big bet bodes well for New Jersey market
Another group that is undoubtedly pleased by the news: New Jersey politicians, especially those in Atlantic City. Regulated online gambling was sold as an answer to the declining fortunes of New Jersey’s once-dominant gambling industry and the tens of thousands of jobs that rely upon it returning to health.
One deal won’t solve those problems overnight. But it does indicate that PartyPoker NJ is willing to pour millions of dollars into the industry on the come. And competitors will certainly take notice and face pressure to make similar investments of their own.
The result could be a cascade of economic activity that will allow regulated online gambling fufil the promise that drove its passage into law.
The impending closure of the Atlantic Club Casino and the ongoing struggles of billion-dollar bust Revel both serve as grim reminders of just how essential fulfilling that promise is to the future of Atlantic City and the countless number of households that rely on the Garden State gambling industry for their livelihood.
No deal like it in American history
While promotional partnerships between online gambling sites are very common in international markets, there is little – arguably no – precedent for Party’s relationship with the 76ers and Devils in the history of the United States market for Internet gambling.
In the brief history of regulated iGaming – currently available only in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey – there have been no similar partnerships. And even looking back into the murky past of unregulated online gambling reveals no substantial connections between an online gambling site and a major professional American sports teams.
But despite the unprecedented nature of the partnership, the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers are in rarified company thanks to their deal with bwin.party. Among the dozens of international sports teams that have partnered with bwin.party sits arguably the most recognized name in all of sport: Manchester United, who have worked with the company for nearly a decade.
