At the SBC Summit North America 2022 this week in Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment in East Rutherford, New Jersey, PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel commented on how his company is focusing its marketing spend on partnerships, and other avenues.
There has been a lot of discussion in the Ontario online betting market on the size of sportsbook advertising spends, and the lifespan of that exuberance. Many people have complained about all the ads running on television, for example.
So Friday’s announcement from PointsBet Canada that it is the Official Sports Betting Partner of Team Bottcher in curling is no surprise.
Team Bottcher is newly formed and surely to be a popular betting proposition on Ontario sports betting apps. The rink of Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, and Brendan Bottcher brings together past world, national and Olympic champions together for the 2023-2026 Olympic run. Kennedy and Hebert are past Olympic gold medalists, and have multiple men’s worlds, Briers and Grand Slam of Curling titles.
Gallant won a bronze at the Olympics this year (his Olympic debut) and has a gold and two silver medals from the men’s worlds. Bottcher won his first Brier title a year ago and has three Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles under his belt.
Connecting with Curling Fans
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with PointsBet Canada,” Bottcher said. “Having a world-class operator like PointsBet Canada on our team will not only help us in our pursuit of championships, but also help us connect in innovative ways with our nation’s curling fans.”
PointsBet Canada has been all in on curling partnerships — it is the Official Sports Betting Partner of Curling Canada and have a partnership deal in place with Team Kerri Einarson. It also had a deal with Team Kevin Koe, a team that broke up last March.
The Ontario iGaming market went live on April 4.
PointsBet Building on Uniquely Canadian Sports
PointsBet Canada is striving to build a uniquely Canadian operation. Curling is a sport deeply embedded in Canada’s identity. The sport is played in every province and territory, in 1,000 clubs and is played by almost two million people per year in Canada (pre-pandemic).
There are more than 300 hours of Curling Canada events on television each year, and the national championships for both men’s and women’s always score big ratings.
Said PointsBet Canada chief commercial officer Nic Sulsky in a statement Friday morning: “As the two-time winner of EGR North America’s Best Sports Betting Operator, PointsBet Canada prides itself on excellence. This is why it was a no-brainer to partner with players who have not only won before on the national stage, but also internationally at the World Championships and Olympics.”
