Score Media and Gaming (theScore) has entered a partnership with Canadian recreational sports business Canlan Sports to promote its brand across the country.
Under the agreement, both brands will benefit from cross promotion across their respective digital platforms, while theScore’s properties, including its theScore Bet mobile sportsbook, will have a branding presence at Canlan’s network of Sports Complexes throughout Canada.
This will include theScore Bet becoming the new title sponsor of Canlan’s adult recreational hockey league (ASHL) tournaments, which welcome more than 65,000 players each year.
theScore will also benefit from activation across Canlan’s adult participant network.
In return, Canlan will tap into theScore’s digital media footprint across Canada to promote its sports and recreational brand to consumers.
The new partnership is scheduled to commence this fall, beginning with theScore assuming sport-surface title sponsorship in all six of Canlan’s Ontario Sports Complexes.
“As we introduce theScore Bet brand to the Ontario market, we are looking to activate in creative and impactful ways that engage large, endemic audiences and create authentic connections to our brand,” theScore’s senior vice president of marketing Aubrey Levy said.
“This deal allows us to meaningfully connect with a huge audience of adult sports fans as well as the culture and passion around recreational hockey, which of course will be implemented in a responsible fashion in accordance with regulatory requirements.”
Canlan president and chief executive Joey St-Aubin added: “We support a safe, responsible and regulated sports betting market. And given theScore’s leadership position in digital sports media, we are very confident that Canadians will benefit from this rapidly evolving, cutting-edge industry.
“This collaboration allows us to continue building momentum for our digital transformation, gamification and enhancing the customer experience by introducing the Canlan Sports brand to wherever sports loving fans consume media.”
This week, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) published draft sports betting regulations for the province, with restrictions on marketing similar to Ontario’s proposed online casino rules.
Currently, only the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation may offer online gambling, but this is set to change with the provincial government taking steps to liberalise the market.
Operators will be allowed to take bets on individual sporting events, after a bill to permit single-event wagering was signed into law. Prior to this, only bets on three or more events were permitted.
The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) pointed out that the rules do not include any product restrictions, as betting exchanges, daily fantasy sports, esports bets, and live in-game wagering all permitted.
Many of the standards are based on the proposed rules for online casino gaming, which were published earlier this month.