UK sports betting operator Betfred has become the second operator in as many days to sign a betting partnership with the National Football League’s Denver Broncos.
On Tuesday, the Broncos announced that it had reached a multi-year partnership with Betfred USA Sports, the US offshoot of the Betfred Group. The news comes ahead of Wednesday’s launch of Betfred’s retail sportsbook at the newly reopened Saratoga Casino Black Hawk outside Denver, with which Betfred inked a betting deal this January.
Betfred’s Colorado-licensed online betting option is still being tinkered with, but Betfred USA Sports COO Bryan Bennett said the company hopes to launch its online platform “right before football season.”
Tuesday’s announcement came just 24 hours after the Broncos made history by becoming the first NFL club to sign an official betting partnership, a non-exclusive pact with Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel Group. Brady Kellogg, the team’s senior VP of corporate partnerships, told Front Office Sports that a third partnership was possible prior to kickoff of the upcoming season.
There appear to be some perks to Betfred’s deal that may have eluded FanDuel’s negotiators. For instance, in addition to the usual media marketing and stadium signage opportunities, Betfred’s deal also involves plans for “a sports betting lounge outside of Empower Field at Mile High.”
There was little further detail on the makeup of this lounge, although Broncos chief commercial officer Mac Freeman said the team would be able to provide fans with “a new and exciting onsite experience” through “a tailgate activation featuring a gaming lounge adjacent to Sports Legends Mall.”
The Reporter Herald claimed that this lounge will actually be a ‘hospitality tent,’ but whatever its roofing, Bennett said it would be “a great place for fans to come in for some pre-game (betting).”
Other betting operators have struck ‘lounge’ deals with other teams/leagues, including William Hill, which got the right to run a branded area within the New Jersey Devils’ Prudential Center arena. This lounge didn’t include any actual betting windows, although Hills staff were permitted to instruct guests how to download the company’s betting app.
Hills also struck a deal late last year to launch America’s first in-stadia sportsbook at Capital One Arena, the home of Washington’s NHL, NBA and Women’s NBA franchises.
In January, casino operator MGM Resorts struck a deal with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders to run a VIP lounge called the MGM Club at the team’s Allegiant Stadium, which has yet to open to the public.
