The NBA finally has its first team sponsorship deal in the sports betting category, an agreement that will tie the Fox Bet brand to the 76ers. The deal gives Fox Bet presenting sponsorship of radio game broadcasts and of the hype video that plays on the Wells Fargo Center video board heading into the fourth quarter. It also gives Fox Bet arena signs and promotion through the team's digital and social media. Though the NBA was the first league to embrace sports betting, its teams largely have been precluded from striking sportsbook sponsorship deals.
The NBA prohibits teams from promoting sportsbooks unless they play in states that have legalized and regulated sports betting. Pennsylvania, Oregon and Indiana are the only states that have NBA teams that allow online sports betting. The NBA also requires sportsbooks that sponsor its teams to purchase official league data for use to settle bets. Of the five sportsbooks that offer mobile wagering in Pennsylvania -- Rivers, Parx, FanDuel, DraftKings and Fox Bet -- only Fan Duel and Fox Bet are blessed by the NBA. Fox Bet accounted for only $9.7M of the $198.7M that Pennsylvania sportsbooks handled online in October. But that was more than double the $4.5M in September, its first month in operation in the states.
