Gretzky to support marketing efforts

The National Hockey League (NHL)’s most recognizable icon, Wayne Gretzky, has inked a multi-year brand ambassador deal with BetMGM.

Nicknamed “The Great One”, Gretzky took to Twitter on Wednesday to share news of his appointment, adding how he’s “always loved” his relationship with MGM:

According to a June 2 news release by the New Jersey-based iGaming and sports betting giant, Gretzky will join BetMGM to “bolster their marketing efforts in North America.”

Gretzky, 60, said BetMGM was “a terrific company […] at the very forefront of the dynamic changes taking place in the sports business.”

Operator eying NHL icon’s native Canada

BetMGM’s chief revenue officer Matt Prevost said BetMGM is “proud” to add Gretzky to its roster and that The Great One “brings a unique ability to tell our brand story.” Prevost added that because BetMGM sits at “the intersection of sports and entertainment [Gretzky] fits this positioning perfectly.”

potential expansion into the four-time Stanley Cup winner’s native Canada

The BetMGM executive also highlighted that his firm was looking at potential expansion into the four-time Stanley Cup winner’s native Canada. Currently, single-game betting is illegal in Canada, but Bill C-218, which seeks to overturn this law, passed a second reading in the Senate of Canada on May 26.

Bill C-218 has now makes it way to the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade, and Commerce.

Under current Canadian legislation, betting in the country is only legal if bettors wager on a parlay of three events or more. If Bill C-218 passes muster, Canadian provinces will be able to offer a greater variety of sports betting markets aside from horse racing, where pari-mutuel operators are already allowed to accept single-event bets.

BetMGM skating into new waters

Gretzky once famously said: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” This pretty much echoes BetMGM’s current bullish mood. The sports betting giant made its first gambit into horse racing last week by signing a deal with NYRA Bets, LLC, the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA).

In Wednesday’s news release, Gretzky said he was “excited to help tell BetMGM’s story” and to play a role in its “continued expansion into new states and territories.”