NHL Representative To Talk Shop In Sports Betting Summit Next Week

• Keith Wachtel, the CBO and executive VP of the NHL, will be part of a Boston sports betting panel next week.
• The main topics of discussion will be “integrity” and commercial opportunities between leagues and bookmakers.
• ICE VOX North America will be held from May 14 through May 15.

BOSTON – Of all the major sports leagues to be caught up in the intrigue and politics around the mass legalization of sports betting in the United States, the National Hockey League has spoken most softly.

Keith Wachtel, the chief business officer and executive vice president of the NHL, is slated to attend ICE VOX North America as a member of a panel on sports betting.

The meeting, which seeks to bring together gaming industry luminaries to discuss tactical approaches to building out sports betting’s national footprint, will be held in Boston next week (May 14-15).

While the notion of sports betting “integrity” will likely share the spotlight, the deeper purpose of the meeting will be to strategize a unified approach to how the many major sports leagues and gaming operators in the country can work together to make their products universally more compelling.

Per Wachtel in a press release, “State-by-state legislation, data requirements, and opportunities for broader fan engagement will be the main talking points in Boston.”

The NHL is in a unique position to provide perspective and offer advice to its fellow sports leagues. While all major US leagues now have gaming operator partnerships and sponsorships (the NHL has three such deals of its own), only the NHL actually has an operational team in Las Vegas.

Because of this presence in the world’s foremost sports betting and gambling mecca, the league knows precisely how valuable localized sports wagering has been to its bottom line.

Wachtel indicates that since the Vegas Golden Knights opened up shop in Sin City, the NHL has experienced a 100% increase in total handle year-over-year. That sort of growth indicates not just increased access for bettors, but it shows that there are new bettors tuning in to the NHL for the first time.

Turning those bettors into fans, and turning existing fans into bettors, are both critical to sustained league growth. However, it has to be done right, as Wachtel points out.

[The NHL is] focused on being at the forefront of innovation and developing technology – including our puck and player tracking product – which provide more data and tremendous insights to the game.

“In relation to US gaming industry partnerships, we will continue to see new trends emerge and, while gaming operators will try to seek building market share, I believe the focus will shift to technology and the digital experience on operators’ platforms.”

Though not scheduled to attend, one league in particular will be paying close attention to Wachtel and the NHL’s perspective at next week’s meeting: the National Football League.

Starting next year, the NFL will be the second major sports league to have a franchise based in Las Vegas, as the Oakland Raiders are primed to make the move after their upcoming final season in California.

The NFL has long advocated the idea of integrity fees as a necessary precaution in a world of legal sports betting. However, the league has since softened its stance, joining the NBA in seeking out lucrative data-rights deals instead.

The NHL, in having what essentially amounts to a two-year head start on the rest of the sporting community regarding such data deals and betting sponsorships, could provide the blueprint for the multibillion-dollar sports and betting industries going forward.

News tags: ICE VOX North America | Massachusetts | NHL