PointsBet Canada announced Monday it has joined the NHL Alumni Association (NHLAA) as their exclusive sports betting partner in Canada, and official partner in the United States. The multi-year deal takes effect immediately and grants PointsBet Canada with the marketing and licensing rights to the NHLAA and NHL Alumni across North America.
The NHLAA, established in 1999, is an organization that provides all former NHL players and their families with financial assistance, mental and emotional wellness support, physical care, post-playing career transition and family aid. Since its inception, the NHLAA has become the largest membership of retired professional hockey players.
In an official press release, Nic Sulsky, Chief Commercial Officer of PointsBet Canada, spoke about this new alliance and said: “The NHL Alumni Association has always been at the top of our list as PointsBet entered Canada. Saturday night hockey is an institution from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Being able to partner with the likes of Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mike Vernon, and the countless other NHL Alumni that skated across our screens will allow us to deliver the authentically Canadian gaming experience that we want to bring sports fans.”
Glenn Healy, President and Executive Director of the NHLAA, added: “What made the partnership with PointsBet Canada so attractive was their appreciation of what makes our Alumni unique. From the very beginning, PointsBet Canada understood our mission at the NHLAA, which is to ‘Honour the Past’ and provide hope and help for all NHL Alumni and their families. I am thrilled that they will also be embracing our players’ roots and hometowns across the country where their NHL dreams began.”
Healy also pointed out that the NHLAA chose Pointsbet Canada “because of the company’s focus on responsible gaming”: “It was clear in all of our conversations that PointsBet would play within the rules as a responsible gaming operator, and they were willing to partner with our players to deliver this important message to Canadians.”
Scott Vanderwel, Chief Executive Officer of PointsBet Canada, concluded: “We are fully supportive of government efforts to create a regulated gaming environment because it will create a level-playing field that not only protects consumers, but eliminates the illegal and grey-market. We are thrilled to be able to join the NHLAA to use our collective voice to promote safe wagering as a legal operator.”
