FanDuel and PokerStars partner with MLSE To Bring Sports Betting To The Arena

Flutter Entertainment recently announced the signing of a deal with MLSE, who owns Toronto’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) teams, stating its FanDuel Group as the official sports betting partner of the Canadian professional sports franchise owner and PokerStars as its official gaming partner.

The two iGaming ventures will now have their services featured prominently via rink and court-side signage within the Scotiabank Arena home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. They will also have rights to use MLSE in their advertising and marketing. Both operators will offer players in Ontario entertainment options across sports, poker and casino gaming.

“The Maple Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC are pioneering franchises and major pillars in Canadian sports culture,” said Dale Hooper, the General Manager of FanDuel Canada. “As we bring FanDuel to Ontario, we want to collaborate with globally recognized enterprises like MLSE to bring unique content experiences to some of Canada’s most dedicated sports fans.”

The Marketing Director for PokerStars, Tom Warren, disclosed that the ground-breaking alliances moreover covers the Toronto Marlies franchise of the developmental American Hockey League (AHL), which is also owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited, and will see all of its new partner’s teams ‘collaborate on marketing integrations’. His statement read, “We have epic plans for our community in Canada and are excitedly looking forward to creating some incredible experiences in our birth country when we launch very soon. Partnering with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited will give us the opportunity to reach passionate fans across Ontario with a wide remit of poker and casino, heighten experiences wherever we can and be a part of some major winning moments.”

Flutter Entertainment holds a 95% stake in FanDuel Group and has controlled PokerStars since about two years, so as to acquire the online poker operator’s Toronto-headquartered parent, The Stars Group Incorporated. It stated that the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited alliances are a first for its North American interests and will now offer both subordinates the chance ‘to showcase their brands to some of the most loyal sports fans in Canada.’

The London-listed behemoth used an official Friday press release to detail this arrangement.