Northern Exposure: bet365 Becomes First Sports Betting Sponsor Of UEFA Champions League

Greg Warren
Written by: Greg Warren

Each week, Canada Sports Betting recaps all the top sports betting and iGaming news in Canada and highlights upcoming events.

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bet365 partners with UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League has selected its first-ever sports betting partner: bet365.

The announcement regarding the three-year sponsorship through the 2026-27 season was made on Wednesday by both parties.

“As the first sports betting brand to sponsor the UEFA Champions League, we’re delighted to be joining a roster of high-profile premier brand partners at such an exciting time for the competition,” said bet365 Global Chief Marketing Officer Alex Sefton in the release. “bet365 has a long and successful football heritage and this prestigious partnership reflects our commitment to giving fans ‘Never Ordinary’ experiences.”

Through the new partnership, bet365 will have brand exposure on in-game perimeter LED boards, media backdrops, and UEFA Champions League digital channels. The operator is also planning a massive ticket giveaway contest to celebrate the deal.

“As one of the leading online sports betting brands, with over 100 million customers, bet365 is dedicated to enhancing the excitement of sport while promoting responsible sports betting practices. We look forward to a successful partnership that not only elevates the experience for our fans but also supports efforts to protect the integrity of the sport,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, director of marketing at UEFA.

The bet365 sports betting brand is available across Canada, and is one of roughly 50 operators doing business in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market. It’s one of the most recognizable sports betting brands in Canada and one of CSB’s preferred sportsbooks.

Bragg expands partnership with Caesars

Toronto-based Bragg Gaming Group, an iGaming content and turnkey technology solutions provider serving online and land-based gaming operators with its proprietary and exclusive content and cutting-edge technology, is expanding its partnership with the Caesars digital arm to launch its newest games and Remote Gaming Server technology into the onling gambling markets of Pennsylvania and Ontario, it announced Tuesday.

That means online casino players using the Caesars platform in the two jurisdictions will now be able to access popular titles, such as “Boardwalk Slots Bankers & Cash” and “Lady Luck Egyptian Magic,” among others.

“Expanding our catalog of best-in-class online casino content remains a focus for us. We are proud of our partnership with Bragg, and this expansion is a positive step forward in our journey to bring an elevated experience to our online casino players,” said Vice President of Online Gaming for Caesars Digital, Ricardo Cornejo Rivas, in a press release.

Bragg Gaming, which holds a B2B license with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and the British Columbia Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, supports several other operators across Canada with its products and services, including DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive (BetRivers), FanDuel, Entain, bet365, and many others.

Caesars was one of the first operators to launch its online gaming platform in Ontario in 2022, and it also operates a retail sportsbook at the Caesars Windsor property.

New study on NFL betting behaviours

The start of the new NFL season is just a couple of weeks away, and a new study by Optimove, a top customer relationship management marketing solution for iGaming operators, is shedding some light on what makes “NFL bettors tick” south of the border in the United States.

Optimove surveyed 356 U.S. football bettors for its 27-page study titled, “The Optimove Insights 2024–2025 Consumer Report on NFL Wagering Intentions,” that were 21 years of age and older and had household incomes of $75,000 USD or greater. Here are some of the key findings:

  • 85% of respondents said they typically place live bets, up 39% from the 2023 edition of the study.
  • 76% of respondents reported moderate or better success in NFL wagers (OK, sure?!).
  • 66% of bettors admitted to wagering more than they could afford or wanted to lose, up from 45% in 2023.
  • 97% of bettors are aware of responsible gambling resources, with 67% using these resources to set bet limits or address gambling issues. Roughly 90% of respondents said they set a budget for their NFL gambling.
  • The most preferred day for receiving betting messages and promotions is Monday (20%), followed by Friday and Saturday (17%), and Sunday (16%).
  • The majority of respondents (32%) typically wager $11-$50 (USD) on a single NFL bet, while 29% typically wager $51-100 (USD). Only 5% of respondents said their typical bet size was $500 (USD) or more.

Although this study was limited to respondents from the United States, many previous sports betting studies have shown that the behaviour shown from U.S. sports bettors is for the most part mirrored in Canada, which makes sense given the close proximity of the two countries and the sharing/interest of many professional sports leagues.

Ontario’s online sports betting regulators revealed that football was the second-most bet on sport (15% of all sports wagers) during the 2023-24 fiscal year behind basketball (24%). Surprisingly, hockey wagers only accounted for 11% of the total online sports bets in the province.

The NFL regular season kicks off on Sept. 5, when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Kansas City Chiefs, who are seeking a third straight Super Bowl title.

The full study from Optimove can be found below:

Optimove_Insights_2024-2025_Consumer_Report_on NFL_Wagering_IntentionsDownload