UK-listed online betting exchange Betfair has inked a sponsorship deal with the New Jersey division of entertainment heavyweights Live Nation. Under the terms of the deal, BetfairCasino.com will serve as official and exclusive online gaming sponsor of Live Nation New Jersey, the PNC Bank Arts Center amphitheater in Holmdel and the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden.
The deal will allow new Betfair patrons to earn Live Nation Concert Cash or Ticketmaster Ticket Cash with their first deposit. Betfair US SVP of Gaming Don Ryan said the deal would help introduce “thrill-seeking music fans in New Jersey” to the thrills of betting online with Betfair. In a neat bit of symmetry, Kip Levin, who was appointed CEO of Betfair US last month, formerly served as executive VP of e-commerce at Ticketmaster, which undoubtedly helped smooth the ‘get to know you’ phase of the partnership.
Betfair has teamed with the Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City on an online gambling operation, which ranked fourth out of six operators on the state’s most recent online revenue chart. Betfair US also operates the TVG horserace betting operation and has a prospective exchange wagering deal with New Jersey’s Monmouth Park racetrack, assuming the state follows through on its vow to finally authorize exchange wagering sometime this fall.
Terms of the Betfair/Live Nation deal weren’t disclosed. The only other major sponsorship signed by one of New Jersey’s licensed online gambling operators – PartyPoker’s deal with the New Jersey Devils NHL team and the Philadelphia 76ers NBA squad – reportedly cost Bwin.party $10m for a year’s worth of marketing tie-ins.
