The National Hockey League’s embrace of legal sports betting now extends to the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Through a multi-year partnership, the league and Tipsport, the holding company that oversees sports betting in Central and Eastern Europe, launched a wagering information agreement.
It marks the first sports betting deal for the NHL outside of North America.
Tipsport will become an official sports betting partner of the NHL and will have access to game data generated by the league’s new puck and player tracking technology. The league said the technology will enhance its gaming statistics and live odds.
Tipsport will also receive promotional media in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and will leverage branding opportunities in connection with future NHL marquee events in Europe.
Many NHL players come from Eastern Europe. Czech Republic players include Tomas Nosek of the Vegas Golden Knights, Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks, and Petr Mrazel of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Active NHL players from Slovakia include Zendo Chara of the Washington Capitals, Tomas Tatar of the Montreal Canadians, and Andrej Sekera of the Nashville Predators.
NHL Vice President of Business Development and International Partnerships John Lewicki said the sports betting landscape “presents a unique opportunity for fan engagement in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, utilizing technology and data that are proprietary to the NHL.”
He called Tipsport, “an ideal partner’ for the league to further fan engagement around the globe.
As an official sports betting partner, Tipsport can conduct marketing campaigns utilizing NHL branding across a range of the company’s digital sports betting offerings in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“The contract with the NHL is one of the most important contracts in the history of Tipsport,” said Tipsport Chief Marketing Officer Jan Čumpelík. “It will allow us to gradually bring to our betting community a number of world-unique innovations, we gain unprecedented access to data and exclusive conditions of cooperation with the most popular ice hockey competition in the world.,”
Tipsport will also receive premiere marketing positions on NHL.com/cs and NHL.com/sk (the Czech and Slovak-language versions of NHL.com). Also, Tipsport may leverage promotional opportunities in connection with the NHL’s calendar of marquee events, including the NHL Global Series games in the Czech Republic or Slovakia in future seasons.
Tipsport has also partnered with Nova Sport TV, the NHL’s broadcast partner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In addition to sponsoring and executing advertising campaigns, Tipsport will also have a significant presence in Nova Sport TV’s new NHL studio.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgmaing.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
