NHL doubles down in Nordics with two betting partnerships
Credit: Jeppe Gustafsson / Shutterstock

The US National Hockey League (NHL) has signed separate deals with two prominent betting operators in Europe’s Nordics region.

Firstly, the league has renewed its arrangement with Unibet, an international sports betting brand owned by the Sweden-based multinational Kindred Group.

The partnership has been extended on a multi-year basis, with Unibet continuing as the NHL’s official betting partner. The brand has been positioning itself as the ‘leading operator for ice hockey betting in Sweden’ via these marketing efforts.

“Unibet has been a dedicated partner in helping us increase our engagement with passionate hockey fans in Sweden,” said NHL Vice President of NHL Business Development and Partnerships International John Lewicki.

“We are thrilled to renew our partnership and look forward to their activation plans for our slate of signature international events.”

Ice hockey is a widely followed sport in Sweden and in the rest of the Nordics region, and the NHL has a strong following in the country due to its standing as one of the world’s elite leagues.

Terms of the arrangement will see Unibet continue to hold a number of marketing rights in Sweden. This will include digitally enhanced dash boards (DEDs) and tailored content to enhance fan engagement.

Unibet has been a partner of the NHL since last year, with the league sitting within its broad sponsorship portfolio. The company – whose parent Kindred is set to be acquired by French operator Groupe Française des Jeux (FDJ) – has held partnerships in sports including football, snooker, horse racing and boxing throughout its history.

Philip Lagström, General Manager of Kindred Group Sweden, remarked: “We are incredibly proud to extend our partnership with the NHL. Together, we will continue to showcase the excitement and energy of the league, bringing fans even closer to the game. 

“This season will be pivotal for ice hockey in Sweden, with the NHL bringing back its international hockey events and the 2025 IIHF World Championship being hosted by Sweden and Denmark. We anticipate heightened fan interest, and we’re thrilled to be part of this journey.”

In its second Nordic partnership this week, the NHL has put pen to paper with Veikkaus, the state-owned betting operator of Finland. The league hopes to leverage the company’s already extensive relationship with ice hockey, which like in Sweden is a very popular sport in Finland.

Terms of the deal will see Veikkaus extend its ice hockey content to include NHL coverage in the US and Canada. The deal will cover the 2024-2026 seasons, with a total of 700 live NHL games broadcast on VeikkausTV, the operator’s streaming platform, with betting features.

“We are thrilled with our partnership extension with Veikkaus,” said Joseph Stravato, NHL Director, Business Development. “Together, we are committed to delivering content and access to our hockey fans in Finland. 

“It is exciting to extend our partnership in advance of the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland, which will feature some of the biggest NHL Finnish stars in front of a hometown audience in Tampere.”

Expanding its content offering, visibility and fan engagement capabilities through sports may prove vital for Veikkaus moving forward. The company has long-held a monopoly on betting in Finland, backed by the state, but this is coming to an end.

It is important to note that Veikkaus itself has been a vocal voice in support of launching a multi-operator betting market in Finland due to the number of Finnish customers placing bets with overseas, unlicensed companies.

Regardless, the firm will obviously find itself facing more competition from incoming licensed operators. Securing the edge in content and fan engagement will likely help the state-owned operator keep up with future competition.

Tuomo Torkkola, Veikkaus’s Partnership Manager, added: “The NHL is the second most popular league in Veikkaus’ Betting, just after the domestic Liiga, based on the number of customers. With this sought-after NHL partnership, we can now bring even more official content from the world’s top ice hockey league to our channels. 

“There is a strong demand for our NHL content, and it’s great that we can continue to provide it to our customers and other ice hockey enthusiasts in Finland during the 2024–2026 seasons.”

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