PointsBet named official partner of University of Maryland Athletics

December 9, 2021

Yesterday, PointsBet was announced as an official partner of the University of Maryland Athletics. The multi-year agreement is the first sports betting partnership within the NCAA's Big Ten Conference. It will feature fan-facing in-game and campus activations in and around Maryland's XFINITY Center and Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, in addition to strategic responsible and problem gambling education to Maryland staff, students, and fans.

The education part of this deal will assuredly be key, as regulators will be keen to ensure that minors, those below 21 years of age, are not targeted by any part of this marketing agreement, though we are not sure how that can be avoided given the location of much of the "activations".

PointsBet, an Australian firm whose shares are listed on the ASX, gained access to the Maryland online and mobile sports betting market through an agreement with the revered "Riverboat on the Potomac", a licensed satellite simulcast facility for horseracing and minority owned small business located in Charles County, Maryland. 

The market for online sports betting in Maryland is not yet open, as the Maryland State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency must complete their work in creating the regulatory framework.  From that point onward, operator applications will need to be made by all those that wish to become officially legal Maryland betting sites or mobile sportsbook app providers. Then the MLGCA must weigh up the applications and make their decisions in terms of granting operator licenses.  There are hopes that the Maryland online sports betting market will be open by the start of the 2022/23 NFL season kickoff.

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