This past March, MGM International struck a deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) to become the league’s official gaming partner. The move followed the league’s belief that sports gambling is the best way to improve fan engagement and increase interest in the sport and MLS has now gone a step further, removing restrictions that prevented teams from entering into sponsorship agreements with sports gambling operators – and booze.
Going forward, sports gambling operators and liquor companies could be found in all of the 24 stadiums where MLS teams play in the U.S. They could appear on stadium billboards, broadcasts or field advertising and even on team uniforms. Conversely, with partnerships established, sports gambling entities would be able to use team logos in their ads.
MLS Senior VP of Business Development told Fortune magazine, “We want to … provide our clubs with an appropriate level of flexibility. We strongly believe this is going to help drive new revenues…. Right now, we want to take advantage of the widespread legalization of sports betting in the U.S.”
Uniform sponsorships are not common in the U.S., but they are virtually everywhere else. The NBA first started playing with jersey sponsorship patches two years ago and, with MLS getting into the mix, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to soon see the NFL, the NHL and MLB to follow suit. Given the ability to generate additional revenue, it’s surprising that the leagues haven’t already begun to allow the practice.
There will be some limitations established for the uniform patches. They won’t be present on youth-size retail jerseys or on jerseys that are given to any youth player or MLS academy. The sports gambling operator may use a team’s logo; however, the players themselves are not allowed to appear in any ads.
Sports gambling, much to the chagrin of ultra-conservatives, continues to expand across the U.S. There is already one stadium, Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, that has a sportsbook and more are definitely going to follow. Capital One Arena is owned by Monumental Sports and is home to that company’s Washington Capitals of the NHL, the Washington Wizards of the NBA, the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and Washington Valor of the Arena Football League.
