William Hill US has signed a historic partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights, the first between a sports book operator and a National Hockey League franchise.
William Hill and the Knights, who return to the T-Mobile Arena on the Strip this fall after a Cinderella first season that brought them to the Stanley Cup final, will cross-promote each other through various media, advertising and promotional platforms, including Hills ads on the arena’s dasher board and in other areas visible on television. The bookmaker also will have the right to display league-wide odds on the giant videoboard above the rink during intermission. The two companies also will collaborate on away game watch parties.
William Hill is already the dominant sports betting operator in Nevada with 108 books, and its partnership with the Knights will go a long way to ratcheting up the company’s profile with the rest of the NHL and the other major sports leagues.
“It certainly gets the rest of the NHL thinking about deals, and it puts William Hill in a good position as a first mover,” said Union Gaming analyst John DeCree.
“We are delighted to be leading the way with William Hill in this space,” said Knights President Kerry Bubolz.
Elements of the partnership will be rolled out during the remainder of the league’s exhibition season and be fully in place for the start of the regular season October 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
