Just in time for the National Hockey League’s 2022 Heritage Classic on March 13, pitting the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Buffalo Sabres in Hamilton, Ontario, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. announced a multi-year deal. The agreement names OLG’s retail sportsbook PROLINE and online platform PROLINE+ as the league’s first official sports betting partner in Canada. The partnership gives OLG distribution rights to the NHL’s official logos and cross-promotion across NHL digital and social channels.
OLG Chief Digital and Strategy Officer David Pridmore said, “The OLG-NHL deal is a big win for our valued sports bettors. A partnership with a world-class organization like the NHL will help complement the ultimate sports betting experience for hockey fans on PROLINE+ and PROLINE at retail, where our players can execute legal single-event wagers and other unique bets on a sport they love.
Kyle McMann, NHL senior vice president, North American business development, added, “We’re thrilled to announce PROLINE+ by OLG as the NHL’s first official sports betting partner in Canada. As a leading gaming entertainment operator for more than four decades with an excellent track record in Ontario, OLG is an ideal partner for the NHL to begin our transformative entry into this space in Canada and to further engage our avid Canadian fan base.”
Other U.S. and international sports betting partners of the NHL include FanDuel, MGM Resorts, Betway, Bally’s Corp., PointsBet, DraftKings and William Hill.
Last month, OLG became the first official sportsbook partner of the National Football League in Canada with a 5-year deal signed just days before the Super Bowl.
In an effort to retain its customer base, OLG officials said PROLINE and PROLINE+ are being fine-tuned as nearly 30 U.S. and international sportsbook operators prepare to enter the sports betting marketplace on April 4 in Ontario. Currently, OLG’s PROLINE and PROLINE + platforms have a monopoly on the Ontario sports betting market.
Meanwhile, Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (RSI), a leading U.S. online casino and sports betting company, announced on March 10 that it has received its iGaming license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Canada. Its award-winning BetRivers online casino and sportsbook is expected to debut on April 4, the first day iGaming will be authorized in the province.
“The receipt of our registration in Ontario is an important milestone that demonstrates our commitment to operating only in legalized markets where we pay local taxes, and we are grateful for the trust of the AGCO,” said Richard Schwartz, chief executive officer of RSI. “We are now one step closer to launching the BetRivers real-money online casino and sportsbook in Ontario and bringing our unique betting options, such as our innovative peer-to-peer slot tournaments or same game parlays, fast payouts, and award-winning customer service to the province’s millions of residents.
“Our free-to-play social gaming platform has experienced strong traction in Ontario to date, and we look forward to offering those players similarly entertaining and responsible experiences when our real-money offerings come April 4.”
RSI is currently live in Ontario with its free-to-play social gaming platform, Casino4Fun, which is accessible from BetRivers.ca and is powered by the same proprietary technology behind RSI’s real-money platform.
Upon the launch of the BetRivers real-money online casino and sportsbook in Ontario, Canada will join the United States and Colombia to become the third country where RSI operates real-money online gaming. The Company also has access to the Mexican online casino and sports betting markets through its partnership with media conglomerate Grupo Multimedios, where it expects to launch online casino and sports betting in the second quarter of 2022.
