Betting here to stay as NBA picks first international gambling partner

With sports betting now allowed in the US subject to the laws of each state, the National Basketball Association has gone international by picking a gambling partner abroad.

The league signed its first-ever multi-year European gambling partnership deal with Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) on Tuesday.

For some time now, the NBA, the National Hockey League (NHL) and some individual teams have signed similar deals with casino operators boasting sports betting.

However, the French deal proves the tremendous financial success the league has achieved since the US Supreme Court ruling which officially made it possible for each state to provide regulatory framework for sports betting.

The NBA Vice President of Global Partnerships, Vandana Balachandar, said they were excited to be partnering with a market leader in sports betting in France.

“This collaboration will result in the best possible gaming and entertainment experience for consumers through the use of accurate, official, real-time NBA data, and demonstrates our collective efforts to maintain the integrity of our games,” he said.

The deal allows among other things the FDJ to use official league data, create best practices to protect the integrity of NBA games and promote branding on digital and land-based platforms.

Head of Gaming Operations for FDJ, Richard Courtois, said the deal was a huge win for sports bettors in France.

“Partnering with the NBA, the most prestigious basketball league in the world will allow ParionsSport to get even closer to the action and offer a more refined gaming experience for gamers enabling us to reach yet more fans,” he said.

Promotion and branding of the league will be done via FDJ’s gaming brand, ParionsSport across 27,000 retail locations in France.