Australian-based online betting outfit PointsBet will become the "official sports betting partner" of NBC Sports, as NBCUniversal is taking a 4.9% stake in the company as "part of a five-year marketing and content partnership deal," according to Thompson, Macdonald & Boyd of the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW. The partnership also "included an option agreement which could see NBCUniversal take a 20-plus per cent in PointsBet over the course of the deal, subject to shareholder approval." As part of the deal, PointsBet has "committed to spending" $393M in marketing over the five years, along with "incentives payable to NBCUniversal for customer referrals" (AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, 8/28). In Sydney, Patrick Hatch notes The Stars Group signed a "similar marketing and equity tie-up last year" with Fox Sports in the U.S., while William Hill has partnered with CBS Sports. PointsBet on Friday said that it "intended to launch a $300 million capital raising to fund its U.S. expansion" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/28). DEADLINE.com reported PointsBet will be "incorporated in exclusive multi-platform gameday integrations across the eight NBC Sports Regional Networks." PointsBet becomes an "official partner of the NBC Sports Predictor app," and will be the "exclusive provider of odds, props and trends for NBCSN and Golf Channel and their digital properties, as well as Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, and NBC Sports Podcasts" (DEADLINE.com, 8/27).
