PointsBet has gone live as the 16th sports betting app in Colorado after setting up exclusive deals in the state. The app goes through Double Eagle Casino in Cripple Creek, which tapped the company to run its sportsbook, both online and later, retail.
In addition, PointsBet has become the exclusive sportsbook of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth and Ball Arena. It also agreed to a five-year deal with NBCUniversal, which includes nearly $400 million in committed ad spend with NBC taking a 4.9 percent stake in the company, according to Legal Sports Report.
The Australian-based sportsbook became the first in the U.S. to sign a sponsorship with a college, becoming the exclusive official partner of the University of Colorado.
The company will also establish its home base in the U.S. in Denver, where it will employ 200.
Sportsbook operators in Colorado took $207.7 million in handle during September, making it the fifth-biggest market by handle for the month. But PointsBet is aiming for at least 10 percent market share in all jurisdictions, CEO Sam Swanell said. The sportsbook operates in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and New Jersey.
To kick off its launch, Play Colorado did a Q&A with Trip Stoddard, the director of customer experience and insights at PointsBet.
“We’re local,” Stoddard said. “We’re 10 minutes from Ball Arena. We’re right next to Coors Field. And Denver is just a great sports town. We’ve got the big four professional teams, which is fantastic.”
Stoddard said the mid November launch gave the company time to work on delivering the best experience with the fastest and easiest app.
“If you’re walking into Ball Arena, we want you to know that you can bet with a local operator. You don’t need to go with one of the national big dogs that probably don’t care too much about the state. So with that, we partnered with Kroenke.”
PointsBet expects to launch sports betting in Michigan in its fiscal third quarter, which begins January 1. Michigan will also be the first market to get PointsBet’s proprietary iGaming product. New Jersey is expected to get the casino product before the end of the fiscal year.
