The legalization of sports betting all across the United States could add $216 million to the annual revenue of the National Hockey League (NHL), according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).
In a Nielsen Sports study commissioned by the industry group, it was shown that $65 million of the projected revenue would come directly from spending of betting operators and data providers. Of this, $24 million will come from Major League TV advertising revenue from gambling services, $35 million from sponsorship revenue, and $6 million from Major League data and product revenue for third-party gambling services. $151 million is expected to come from increased consumption of NHL products.
“Today’s announcement reaffirms that legal, regulated sports betting will create significant new revenue opportunities for sports leagues,” AGA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Sara Slane said.
Overall league revenue is expected to rise from $4.27 billion to $4.42 billion annually, a 3.5% increase, with the federal ban on sports betting lifted last May.
Ticket sales revenue is expected to increase from $2.04 billion to $2.11 billion, a 3.6% increase. Media rights revenue is projected to go up from $1.57 billion to $1.64 billion, a 4.3% increase.
According to the AGA, the Nielsen Sports study surveyed 1,032 sports fans and bettors from May 15 to 31 on “how a national, legal sports betting market would affect the sports consumption habits of non-bettors, casual bettors and avid bettors, and how this change in consumption would translate to increased revenue.”
Teams in the league have already made moves to adapt to the new legal environment. The Las Vegas Golden Knights, which started playing in the NHL during the 2017-2018 season, recently partnered with bookmaker William Hill to increase engagement of fans of legal betting age.
The New Jersey Devils expect $5 million in revenue from partnerships the franchise is forming to take advantage of legal sports betting in the state.
