Australia-based sportsbook PointsBet, which opened its first U.S. office in New Jersey, recently opened a temporary base in Denver, with plans to develop its headquarters there. The new permanent location is expected to open in June. The company also reached an agreement with LaLiga, the Spanish football league.
PointsBet Director of Communications Pat Eichner said, the office space eventually will be home to up to 200 employees, “predominately focused on product and tech innovation. We’re also working closely with Colorado universities to tap into the talented local tech pool.”
CEO Johnny Aitken said Colorado is an ideal location because “regulators set up a good framework to battle with offshore sportsbooks, (and) taxation is at a good level.”
According to its 2019 annual report, after announcing its partnership with Penn National Gaming, PointsBet started the 2020 fiscal year with market agreements in nine states, with an additional option agreement in place for New York, subject to enabling legislation.
Aitken said the ongoing NCAA tournaments, aka March Madness, “is the equivalent of the Super Bowl in terms of allowing sports betting operators to drive acquisition and activity.”
Also last week, LaLiga North America has partnered with global sportsbook operator PointsBet to bring the world’s best soccer league and its clubs and players to the U.S. throughout the current season and next.
The agreement incorporates multilingual content to be featured across LaLiga North America’s programming slate, with the creation of the PointsBet Prediction of the Week. This weekly segment will be discussed in English and Spanish by commentators including Luis Garcia, Jimmy Conrad and Chelsea Cabarcas.
“Soccer is growing at a very fast pace in the U.S., and the role that LaLiga plays in that growth is important for fans and for brands in the region,” said Boris Gartner, CEO of LaLiga North America. “We are excited to grow with PointsBet in the market and enhance fan experience by bringing LaLiga closer to the fervent audience that exists in the U.S.”
“The PointsBet team and LaLiga North America are strategically aligned in presenting fans with the best, fastest and most engaging experience possible,” added Johnny Aitken, CEO of PointsBet USA. “As an operator that’s in the rare position of owning our technology end-to-end, we are able to move quick and innovate unique features for our customers that enhance their betting, such as being the only sportsbook with deep Spanish language functionality across our entire product so that the premium PointsBet quality is never lost in translation. We look forward to working together and bringing soccer fans closer to LaLiga than ever before.”
The deal marks PointsBet’s third partnership with a major professional league after entering into a collaboration with both the NBA and XFL in February of 2020. PointsBet is the first sportsbook to partner with LaLiga in the United States.
