An active Major League Baseball player will endorse a bookmaker for the first time.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon will be a brand ambassador for the online sportsbook and will appear at fan events for the online sportsbook.
Blackmon is not allowed to promote betting on baseball specifically, but he can endorse the sportsbook.
He is the first player to take advantage of the sports betting opportunities that were included in the new collective bargaining agreement. Before the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was put in place, marketing and sponsorship deals with sportsbooks were restricted to league and team entities, but not for players or coaches. MLB personnel are not allowed to bet on baseball.
The deal between Blackmon and MaximBet is an example of MLB embracing the legal sports betting market in the United States. MLB ballparks are putting in physical sportsbook spaces and there are legal bookmakers in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
In a recent interview with SportsCenter, Rob Manfred talked about the future of in-game betting on baseball.
We see it as a way of increasing fan engagement. It is an additional way for our fans to interact with the game. I think if you talk to people who are experts in the field, they don't see outcome betting as a major growth area. In-game betting, also known as prop betting, is going to be the growth area. Most of that betting will be done on mobile devices.
The lifestyle brand Maxim has a newer online sportsbook in the US that is only open in Colorado. It is planning to expand into Iowa and Indiana.
Blackmon said in a release that he knew this was the right brand for him.
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