With the New Year now underway, sports betting news has skipped the typical holiday lull and continued its deluge into the mainstream.
On the second day of this new decade, the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and DraftKings, Inc. announced a renewed partnership. Under this new marketing agreement, DraftKings is set to become the exclusive sports betting and daily fantasy sports partner of MSG – which includes massive market teams, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
Notably, this new deal will allow DraftKings to promote its burgeoning brand throughout MSG, including on digital platforms, in-game promotion, and outside signage. As a necessary next step, DraftKings will also have the opportunity to set up activation areas at a variety of events held throughout the year, allowing novice-betting fans to join the fun. With its added presence on the seven video boards on the outside walls of MSG, DraftKings will also have added exposure to in excess of 1 million people who walk by each day.
This is yet another example of the growth of sports betting across the United States and the erosion of the stigma attached to sports gambling. While some leagues – most notably the NFL – have continued to show a general reluctance toward adoption of this growing trend, this latest partnership evinces how the train is quickly in motion. MSG has clearly chosen to hop aboard, and we likely will see similar arenas follow suit in the near future so as to get on the train, as opposed to in front of it.