Australian bookmaker PointsBet went live in Ontario on Monday. As soon as it did, it immediately signed a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to show how serious it is about dominating the Canadian sports betting market.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment owns all the major sports franchises in Toronto, including the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC, NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
A “Historic” Deal
PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel called the multi-year agreement between the betting company and the Toronto-based sports and commercial real estate business – “historic.”
He added that betting companies rarely got the opportunity to partner with owners of teams from all of the top four professional competitions that are popular in Canada.
Vanderwel was excited that PointsBet customers and sports fans would get year-round entertainment regardless of what sport they watched and wagered on.
Jordan Vader, senior vice-president at MLSE, said that they were happy to partner with PointsBet Canada and that they looked forward to offering their 19+ fans different and innovative ways of interacting with the teams and sports they loved.
FanDuel and PokerStars Deals
Three days before MLSE signed the PointsBet partnership, the sports and commercial real estate company put pen to paper on multi-year agreements with the FanDuel Sportsbook and PokerStars.
As with the PointsBet collaboration, FanDuel will become an official sports betting partner to the MLSE. PokerStars, on the other hand, will be the official gaming partner.
However, PokerStars has not yet been given the green light to operate in Ontario, so some aspects of the deal will only become effective once the Flutter Entertainment-owned gaming operator gets approval from authorities in the province.
PointsBet Among the First Ontario Bookies to Take Legal Wagers
The list of wagering and gaming operators that secured Ontario licenses includes industry heavyweights like PointsBet, Bet365, FanDuel, 888, Rivalry, and Rush Street Interactive.
According to Scott Vanderwel, PointsBet was one of the first betting providers to go live and take legal wagers in the Canadian province and said that just moments after 12:00 am, they took their first legal sports bet in Ontario.
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