Perfect Bedfellows
We see it all the time in international sports; major franchises building advertising partnerships with betting houses. They’re the kind of mutually beneficial relationships that make a world of sense with similar demographics but really haven’t had a place in American sports…until now. William Hill US has become the official sports book of the Las Vegas Outlaws. For those wondering exactly who the Outlaws are, it’s a fair question; they’re the Vegas based Arena football expansion franchise, owned and operated by non other than former member of Motley Crue and business mogul Vince Neil.
“You will see the William Hill logo on the Outlaws’ jerseys and on the dasherboards. Adults attending the game can sign up for the William Hill Mobile Sports app in the Thomas & Mack concourse and then are immediately able to wager on our full sports menu – including futures, pre-game lines, and InPlay for the Outlaws,” Michael Grodksy, director of marketing for William Hill told me.
Talk about the kind of business partnership that would send chills down the spine of Roger Goodell! People betting on sports, a behavior directly embraced by the league and franchise?! Man, we should condemn everyone in and around Arena football for ruining the purity we’ve all come to expect in our athletic competitions. While Arena Football is still very much an emerging niche market in the American Sports landscape, the opportunities are endless for a league and franchise able to build a symbiotic relationship with an actual gambling entity to drive fan interest, viewership, and potentially long term brand loyalty.
The Outlaws and William Hill aren’t quite at the same level yet as European Sportsbooks with international football clubs where physical betting shops exist within major stadiums. I spent time studying overseas at the University level in Sydney and was blown away by the opportunity to walk right up to a TAB (offtrack betting equivalent) located right in the stadium to bet rugby on the spot. While I realize American sports have a long way to go towards getting to this cohabited space, William Hill’s partnership with a professional franchise creates a blue print that will eventually be duplicated across the country when sports gambling is legalized.
“It is a wagering option that we felt our patrons would really enjoy with Arena Football because of it being a higher-scoring game. It really comes to life when you are watching the action in the Thomas & Mack Center and you can see the LIVE InPlay Lines on both the scoreboard and on our Mobile Sports app,” Grodsky added. I’ll admit having attended the team’s first game in franchise history it was definitely a unique viewing experience by American standards to hear the live line announced at halftime coupled with countless placards and signage encouraging patrons of legal age to sign up for the mobile app all over the main concourse.
How tough was it for the franchise to convince the league itself that in-play wagering should be readily available and advertised at home games was a good idea? Easier than you’d think when the league’s current commissioner had previous ties to the gaming industry.
“The AFL has been extremely supportive. Scott Butera, the AFL Commissioner, has an extensive gaming background and we have had a long and very positive relationship with him. Since this is just another version of Football InPlay betting, there were no regulatory impediments,” Grodsky told me. Amazing what can actually be accomplished when pathways of communication are open between a sportsbook, franchise, and the league itself.
When asked about some of the obvious logistical challenges from a bookmaking standpoint, Grodsky showed nothing but the utmost confidence in William Hill US’ director of trading Nick Bogdanovich saying that traders would use a hybrid of algorithm and manual trading to manage the volatile Arena brand. As far as limits are concerned that will remain an ongoing internal discussion depending on the type of action their Nevada books see during the season.
