NFL Signs Sky Bet As Official Sportsbook In Germany
The NFL has signed Sky Bet as its official sportsbook in Germany, the latest in a string of foreign gambling deals designed to build its overseas fan base and inform its still-developing domestic gambling strategy. In the deal, Sky Bet and the NFL will have co-branded ads on German NFL media rightsholders ProSeiben and ProSeiben MAXX and digital/social media. Sky Bet will also support NFL Tippspiel, a prediction game on the site ran.de, and run promotions and competitions to win NFL experience packages.
Sky Bet in Germany follows behind last week’s deals announced in Latin America with BetCris and 888sport in the U.K. and Ireland, along with the groundbreaking ’19 deal with TabCorp in Australia. That gives the league a sportsbook deal in all of its key markets except the U.S., said NFL Exec VP and Chief Strategy & Growth Officer Chris Halpin. Collectively, the NFL uses those deals to gather data as it gradually builds a betting business in the U.S. However, Germany is also the league’s strongest market in continental Europe due to the defunct World League of American Football franchises there and major U.S. military presence.
"Germany was right in that suite spot, between having young, digitally savvy fans, avid fans, a strong sports betting market with strong media partnership, so it’s a way to serve our fans there and have learnings we can apply throughout the world, including domestically,” Halpin said.
The NFL will study which sportsbook promotions with Sky Bet generate the best return financially, but also how gambling can be best leveraged to convert non-fans into fans, and to escalate casual fans into serious fans. Germany is also one of the countries most coveted by NFL teams, which may be allowed to soon apply for marketing rights in select foreign countries under a pending NFL policy change. Halpin declined to detail the financial arrangement with Sky Bet.
The NFL first allowed casino advertising in ‘18, but still does not have a league-level sportsbook sponsor. In February, the league allowed teams to sign sportsbooks if gambling is legal in their jurisdiction, which the Broncos and Jets have taken advantage of. At league level, Halpin said, the path toward the NFL’s full embrace of sportsbooks still is heavily influenced by state-by-state legalization. Despite the rapid progress since the May ‘18 Supreme Court ruling striking down a federal ban, sports betting remains illegal in many key NFL markets, including California, Texas, Florida and Ohio.
