Gambling on Lightning games? You bet.
Beginning in 2022-23, fans in Canada (and around the world) will be able to bet on NBLC games. The league has entered into a five-year deal with IMG ARENA for exclusive audio-visual sports betting and data rights.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
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London Lightning fans across the city (and around the world) will be able to play alongside their favourite team and players thanks to a new sports gaming partnership announced Wednesday.
The NBL Canada has named IMG Arena as the league’s official sports betting distributor, league and company officials jointly announced. The deal grants the U.K.-based sports betting service and content hub exclusive NBL Canada audio-visual betting and data rights to be distributed across IMG’s network of sports book brands.
The five-year agreement opens the door to single-game betting on NBL Canada games.
“This is an important step for NBL Canada as we move into the sports betting realm. It’s an honour to do so with such a respected and experienced partner,” said Audley Stephenson, VP of Basketball Operations for NBL Canada. “The reach of our league and the quality of the players coming out of it has opened the eyes of the world. This is an amazing mechanism to get the league’s name out there even further and another way for our fans to interact with the brand.”
Headquartered in London, U.K., IMG Arena works with more than 500 global sports book brands to deliver live-streaming video and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually.
“This is an exciting partnership that we can build around for years to come and help the league grow,” Lightning GM Mark Frijia said. “Every major sports league has a betting partner – this kind of partnership brings our game not only to fans across Ontario, but to people around the world who love the sport of basketball.”
For the NLB Canada-IMG Arena partnerships, IMG Arena’s technology will enable fans to see real-time, shot-by-shot data and a range of next-generation betting markets. That same data will be used by IMG Arena’s sports book partners to let fans place single-game bets on league games.
“We are bringing the NBL Canada to a much wider audience,” said Mark Wrigley, Rights Director with IMG Arena. “We’ll be able to showcase the league worldwide, by bringing more detailed data to our customers and to fans that will make them more engaged with the league and basketball, in general.”
IMG Arena’s clients include the ATP Tour, UFC, European Tour, PGA Tour, and the FA. In 2020, more than 210 million hours of IMG Arena content was watched by 69 million viewers around the globe.
Joining those ranks is an exciting moment for the NBL Canada and its franchises, Stephenson said.
“The IMG relationship reenforces the importance of our longevity as a league. If we had not had that, we wouldn’t be here talking about this deal now. This deal further cements the league’s stability,” Stephenson said. “This is a global sport. It only makes sense for us to expand globally. We have done a good job as a league by virtue of our players playing all over the world. This is just another way of reenforcing the league’s presence.”
Wrigley echoed the sentiment that the league’s stability and longevity made it an attractive partner.
“Obviously, we’re entering into this partnership as the league celebrates its 10th anniversary season, but they are far from done, as there is such scope and room for this league to expand,” Wrigley said, pointing out that Canada remains an underserved sports market. “We feel the league has room to grow – and we can help it grow.”
That growth will come as the sports betting landscape continues to evolve in Canada.
Single-game wagering became legal in Canada on Aug. 27, 2021, although it was limited to betting through ProLine, the provincial-run online sports book. As of April 4, however, registered private gaming operators can compete with OLG (and each other) for single-game betting in Ontario. That is a first in Canada.
Some studies estimate that Ontario’s online gambling market could generate $989 million in gross revenue in its first year, hitting $1.86 billion by 2026. With that kind of money at stake, Stephenson said the league did not enter this deal with serious due diligence.
“There was a lot of caution around it – how you play in the arena of sports betting but maintain your integrity as a sports league. There is a reason to be cautious when you enter into this realm. But as a society, we have gotten better about how we manage it, monitor it, how we go about choosing good partners to work with. For us, now is a good time,” he continued.
“As a league, it is important that we are as transparent as possible with owners, coaches, players and fans as to where the league stands. Once that is made clear, what the rules are, you’re off to a strong start. The integrity of the game and of the league is paramount.”
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