WASHINGTON – The National Hockey League (NHL®) and the American Gaming Association (AGA) announced a partnership today to promote responsible gaming activity through the Have A Game Plan.^® Bet Responsibly. public service campaign.

Through the partnership, the NHL will use league-owned, in-arena, and digital marketing inventory for co-branded videoboard images, public address announcements, and animations of hockey-specific marketing materials that encourage responsible sports betting. The league will provide unique assets for each club in legal sports betting markets, including arena, desktop and mobile, and email applications.

“The National Hockey League is proud to partner with the American Gaming Association on this vital initiative to educate NHL fans about the importance of responsible betting,” said Keith Wachtel, NHL Chief Business Officer. “The fan experience remains one of our highest priorities as more hockey fans than ever have the opportunity to legally and responsibly bet in their home states. Ensuring that our passionate fans know how to participate in this exciting new opportunity is important, and we’re thrilled to be working with the AGA to share the responsibility in this worthy education.”

The AGA’s Have a Game Plan. campaign focuses on the core principles of responsible sports betting: setting a budget and sticking to it, keeping betting social, knowing the odds, and playing with trusted, regulated operators. The NHL is only the second professional league to adopt the campaign. NASCAR announced a partnership with the AGA effort in mid-September.

“Teams and leagues are increasingly embracing sports betting as they explore new fan engagement opportunities during COVID-19,” said Bill Miller, AGA President and CEO. “Educating patrons about how to engage in this activity responsibly is critical to the success of the sports betting opportunity as it continues to expand throughout the country. We’re thankful for the NHL’s continued leadership on responsible sports betting. Their partnership on this initiative will be important for hockey fans everywhere as they cheer on their teams in coming seasons.”

HaveAGamePlan.org equips bettors with myriad resources for wagering responsibly, including locations for legal, regulated sportsbooks and how to get help if sports betting is no longer a fun, affordable form of entertainment.

Wachtel will discuss the partnership at a Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2020 panel titled, “The Fan of the Future? How Leagues Are Capitalizing on Sports Betting Through Partnerships,” Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. ET. Media can register to attend here.

Background

• The NHL and its teams have formed 17 marketing and data sharing partnerships with gaming operators and suppliers since May 2018.
• AGA research has found that the NHL’s annual revenue may increase by $216 million a year due to legal sports betting.
• An AGA survey of sports bettors found that 27 percent of bettors wagered on the NHL in the past year—19% at a casino sportsbook, 41% online, and 22% with a bookie.
• 18 states plus Washington, D.C. now offer legal, regulated sports betting, with another four not yet operational and six considering legalization.
• Nearly half (11) of the 23 U.S. jurisdictions with legal sports betting are home to NHL teams.

Join us for a compelling panel discussion on how the U.S. and Canadian gaming industries are leading the way in responsible gaming. This webinar will explore practical strategies for promoting responsible play, protecting consumers and balancing business objectives with regulatory requirements. Panelists will share insights into real-world challenges and successes, opportunities for stronger collaboration among stakeholders and emerging trends that could shape the future of consumer protection.

REGISTER NOW

The American Gaming Association (AGA) and its members prioritize responsible gaming as an integral part of our industry’s daily operations. Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW)—September 13-19, 2020—provides an opportunity to showcase our dedication to responsible gaming programs. It also provides a specific opportunity to refresh employee training, promote transparency and gaming literacy to customers, and work with community partners on advancing responsible gaming initiatives.

For 2020, the AGA is focusing RGEW on Have A Game Plan.™ Bet Responsibly, a campaign to educate new consumers and seasoned bettors on responsible sports wagering. The expansion of legal sports betting to 22 states and the District of Columbia makes it even more important that bettors are provided resources to wager responsibly.

Check back as more resources are added leading up to Responsible Gaming Education Week.

If you have questions about RGEW or Have A Game Plan™, please reach out to Cait DeBaun.

The gaming industry is undergoing rapid transformation, with technological advancements, regulatory changes and heightened awareness of responsible gaming practices. iGB in partnership with OpenBet, the number one pit-stop crew for the world’s top sports betting brands, bring you an exclusive webinar of industry experts and thought leaders to discuss key trends, challenges facing the industry today, and strategic insights on how gaming operators can enhance their player protection capabilities, and promote responsible gaming.

Join us as we dive deeper into the challenges gaming operators face in implementing effective responsible gaming measures.

Agenda:

• How to identify opportunities for operators to align their business strategies with responsible gaming goals
• Exploring successful examples and best practice insights from a leading US gaming operator, a world class player protection specialist and the national voice of the legal industry
• Have the chance to ask your most pressing questions on responsible gaming strategies in our live Q&A

WASHINGTON – UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, has joined the American Gaming Association (AGA) to promote responsible sports betting as the newest partner in its Have A Game Plan.^® Bet Responsibly.™ public service campaign.

To highlight its support for the campaign, UFC will use its own in-venue, digital and broadcast assets to promote co-branded marketing materials with UFC themes to encourage responsible sports betting.

“We have the most passionate, die-hard fans of any sport and they love to bet on UFC, but it’s important they do it responsibly,” said UFC President Dana White. “We’re proud to work with the AGA and get behind this campaign to encourage our fans to make smart decisions and promote responsible gaming.”

UFC joins NASCAR, the National Hockey League (NHL) and the PGA TOUR as a league partner in the campaign, which focuses on the core principles of responsible sports betting: setting a budget and sticking to it, keeping betting social, knowing the odds and playing with trusted, regulated operators.

“As sports betting expands nationwide, professional sports leagues recognize the need to educate fans and ensure they’re wagering safely,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “We’re thankful to see this campaign grow as progressive leagues like UFC lend their considerable voice to this important effort. UFC’s commitment is important to engage, educate and encourage their fans – some of whom may be placing bets for the first time – to wager responsibly.”

The AGA launched the Have A Game Plan campaign in 2019 to educate sports fans on the importance of responsible sports betting. In addition to leagues, UFC also joins Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the Vegas Golden Knights and FanDuel as official campaign partners.

Background

• 25 states and Washington, DC have now legalized sports betting, with 21 jurisdictions already operational.
• 100 million American adults now live in a jurisdiction where wagering on sports is legal.
• 14 states currently have active or pre-filed legislation to legalize sports betting.

About UFC^®
UFC^® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 142 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 territories. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS^®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, along with strategic investors Silver Lake Partners and KKR. UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.

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The American Gaming Association and its members Bally’s, FanDuel and BetMGM are proud to have provided funding and access to players for the development of the Responsible Gaming Intervention Effectiveness Scale (RG-IES), developed by Drs. Jonathan Ross Gilbert and Marla Stafford.

Promoting responsible play is a core value of the U.S. gaming industry, and it is our mission to ensure responsible gaming messages resonate with players and achieve their intended impact. This new scale provides academics, industry members and others interested in RG with a new, research-based tool they can use to evaluate responsible gaming messages. We hope it will serve as a first step into further research on how to best tailor these communications to players.

The RG-IES is intended to allow users to assess RG messages intended to meaningfully impact the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of gaming consumers. While no single scale or measurement tool can fully capture effectiveness in this area, we believe this new scale is an important starting point in evaluating whether or not a message has the potential to resonate with the public and are grateful to the researchers who led this important effort.

The future of responsible gaming will be defined by collaboration across stakeholders and capitalizing on technology to guide responsible play. Hear from stakeholders across the gaming industry on where we are today and how we can leverage collaboration and technology to modernize responsible gaming as we know it.

As an important focus of the AGA’s Corporate Social Responsibility committee, a subset of the AGA membership convenes as the Responsible Gaming Task Force. The Responsible Gaming Task Force focuses on elevating responsible gaming as a key priority for the industry; solidifying AGA and its members as the leading advocate; and shaping policies that are more favorable to innovation and consumer protection.

As an important focus of the AGA’s Corporate Social Responsibility committee, a subset of the AGA membership convenes as the Responsible Gaming Task Force. The Responsible Gaming Task Force focuses on elevating responsible gaming as a key priority for the industry; solidifying AGA and its members as the leading advocate; and shaping policies that are more favorable to innovation and consumer protection.