A NEW PARTNERSHIP DEAL HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FROM CAESARS SPORTSBOOK AND MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

There is a new deal in the Michigan sports betting market involving a major sportsbook operator. Caesars Sportsbook is the exclusive iGaming and sportsbook partner of Michigan State University. This is far from the first such partnership between a sportsbook operator and a college.

However, for a Power 5 conference school, this is the first official iGaming deal. The Vice President and Director of Athletics at Michigan State University, Alan Haller, expressed his excitement over the deal. He feels this partnership will make gameday experiences better for Spartan fans and provide great resources for the varsity programs at the school.

A significant financial commitment from Caesars to Michigan State University has been made. However, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed publicly. Plus, Caesars will also be giving MSU funding for student-athlete responsible gaming education, scholarships, as well as opportunities for internship and professional development.

In return, there will be a new premium seating area as well as a tailgate area in Spartan Stadium, which will feature Caesars branding. Signage for the sportsbook will also appear at MSU’s hockey, basketball, and football games.

MSU has top-10 basketball and football programs. Michigan State University athletics fans will be able to access special offers, which would most likely be promo codes for mobile sports betting in the state.

Caesars Digital co-President, Eric Hession, also expressed his excitement over the partnership. He feels that the established fan base from the Spartans will be great for the brand.

In the fall of 2021, before Louisiana sports betting went live with pre-launch offers, Louisiana State University also signed a partnership with Caesars. And, Caesars also lined up a deal with the Fiesta Bowl for Arizona sports betting. Initially, the first deals were with William Hill, which is now owned by Caesars, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno.

The president of Playfly Sports Properties, Christy Hedgpeth, which facilitated the deal between Caesars and Michigan State, talked about these kinds of partnerships. Opportunities for college properties that are strategic have been reached because of the growing interest around gaming in the college sports arena.

Other deals that have been reached between sportsbook operators and college sports entities are: PointsBet with the University of Maryland, PointsBet with the University of Colorado, and Superbook with the University of Denver.

Many NCAA stakeholders have been very against gambling until recently, and that includes its President, Mark Emmert. However, the money these deals could bring in seems to have swayed opinions. The National Council on Problem Gambling, in the spring of 2021, released a set of college sports betting partnership guidelines they suggest.

A few days ago, a joint college sports betting watchdog program from Learfield and US Integrity was announced, hoping to help protect the integrity of college sports.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.