Betting On College

Sports betting operator PointsBet has signed a five-year partnership deal with the University of Colorado. It’s the first-ever partnership between an NCAA program and a sports betting operator.

A piece of the deal includes support for the athletic department’s Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program. The partnership will also include brand visibility at Colorado’s football stadium and basketball arena, as well radio and other media channels.

PointsBet is heavily investing in the Colorado market, recently signing a partnership deal with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Mammoth. Also in the works is PointsBet’s new North American headquarters in Denver.

Colorado launched legalized sports betting in May and is still a relatively open market as operators look to acquire customers — PointsBet plans to launch its app in the state soon.

Sports Betting News Roundup: 

— More than $1 billion could be spent on sports betting advertising around the NFL season, including an expected $185 million from FanDuel.

— Monkey Knife Fight has acquired daily fantasy sports platform FantasyDraft as it looks to secure more market share and hard-to-acquire licenses.

— Penn National Gaming will soft launch its Barstool Sportsbook app in Pennsylvania on Sept. 15, followed by a full launch on Sept. 18.

— The NFL has named BetCris as its first Latin American sports betting partner. MLB also has a deal with the sportsbook operator. BetCris operated illegally in the U.S. until 2007.