The Washington Capitals were the first NHL team that sold advertising on their jerseys.
Washington announced a multiyear partnership with Caesars Entertainment. The logo will be placed on Capitals home jerseys and third jerseys starting in 2022-23. It's a 3-x-3-inch patch that is placed on the jersey's upper right chest.
Although the NHL allowed teams to sell ad space on jerseys in the summer, they won't start appearing on uniforms until 2022-23.
The Capitals are believed be the first U.S. franchise to offer jersey sponsorship for a gambling venture. Major League Soccer in 2019 included sports gambling sponsors on its jerseys.
In leagues around the world, gambling advertisements have been commonplace on uniforms. But that could soon change. Regulators in the United Kingdom are trying to decrease gambling's presence on sports' fields. The U.K. Gambling Commission will soon release a review of gambling laws. It is expected that it will include a ban against gambling ads on jerseys.
Nineteen of the 20 EPL teams sport gambling ads on their jerseys.
To go with the one advertising on the helmet, NHL teams could only have one advertisement on their jerseys. This program began in the 2019-20 season. The NHL stated that the NHL would allow gambling ads to be placed on helmets and jerseys starting in 2022-23.
The NHL regulations for gambling ads on jerseys allow the Capitals to partner with Caesars. These ads cannot be sold in areas where single-game betting on sports is legal.
"We don’t want that jersey going away markets where it’s not legal," Keith Wachtel (the NHL's chief executive officer and senior vice president) stated to ESPN last month.
The jersey ad patches extend a longstanding partnership between Caesars Sportsbook and Capitals. Caesars Sportsbook at Capital One Arena was opened May 20, 2021. It is the first U.S.-based professional sports venue to offer sports betting. The venue, which spans 18,000 feet and is two stories tall, has 17 betting windows as well as 12 self-service kiosks for betting.
After the U.S. Supreme Court decision that nullified the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, the NHL has been making aggressive deals with gambling enterprises. This resulted in unprecedented levels of legalized sport wagering across the country.
26 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting. Many more states and the District of Columbia are preparing to enter the bookmaking industry, and the marketing of this once-strange business is intensifying.
Many sportsbooks have formed partnerships with the NHL. MGM Resorts was the first partnership, followed by DraftKings and FanDuel, William Hill PointsBet, Bally's and FanDuel.
The introduction of puck- and player tracking technology in the 2021-22 hockey season will make it possible for the sport to become more popular in sports gambling. The tracking sensors' data, which are licensed to MGM bookmakers, is expected to generate a new set of prop bets for NHL games.
"I believe that sports gambling is the future for our business. It's here, and it's only going get bigger. "There's no stopping this freight train now," Brad Alberts (president of the Dallas Stars), stated to ESPN last month.
