We don’t really need to stress on the magnitude of hockey in Canada. It is the biggest sport in the country by some distance. Just like soccer in Europe hockey has been largely organized from school level to professional level. Between the extremes come various youth leagues and college programs which are all responsible for the growth of this sport.
NHL’s revenue generation is not comparable to the soccer leagues in Europe and legal sport betting has been one of the major factors for that. Canada also legalized sportsbook recently
And NHL is now catching up with the trend of sport betting. In just six months they have struck a partnership with their third official partner, William Hill. Hockey betting Canada is now bound to take the NHL by storm.
Embracing the opportunity
The Canadian Government led by Justin Trudeau, who himself used to play hockey in his college days, realized the massive potential of revenue generation in sports betting. But like many other countries a stigma is associated with betting in general. But sport betting is different than plain gambling. Here you are required to use your knowledge of the sport. It is not just pure luck rather the skill to predict the outcome of the game on the basis of information such as team selection, form, quality of players, etc., sets sport betting apart from gambling.
Taking these factors into consideration Canada legalized operation of sportsbook in the country. The NHL being the biggest sport has obviously embraced this incredible opportunity which can help the sport grow even more. This week they have partnered with the William Hill.
Targeting more fan engagement
Wondering what do we mean by fan engagement exactly? You’d be thinking it is Hockey we are talking about and it is the only sport Canadians love. It has been woven into the national fabric over the years. What more efforts need to be done to improve their engagement in hockey?
Hockey is more than a century old sport and a lot of technological advancements have happened over that period. If you can go to the match you can watch it on television. If there is some important work and you can’t watch it live on television you can record it and watch later. In the 21st century live streaming is done over the internet and various companies provide coverage of your favourite games.
The live streaming can be done through mobile phones also which means you can watch the match from literally anywhere. All these things have had a massive impact in the increase of viewership and revenue generation.
The question of morality
The manner in which fans consume the sport does not have to be necessarily restricted to watching the matches. Historically betting has been an integral part of every sport. But as we moved into the modern era where productivity of an individual is the ideal the morality of earning money by gambling and doing nothing came to be questioned.
However we have established that sport betting requires skill and judgment and you are not earning without putting in any effort.