NHL’s Buffalo Sabres have formalized a partnership with Seneca Resorts & Casinos, with the latter now appointed as the exclusive sportsbook partner of the team.
According to a report in Sport Business, the deal builds on the relationship between Sabres’ parent firm Pegula Sports & Entertainment and the New York state tribal gaming operator. In September, the NHL’s Buffalo Bills, also owned by Pegula Sports, agreed a similar deal with Seneca Resorts.
The Seneca Sports Lounge at the Sabres’ KeyBank Center, which has the capacity to introduce sports betting inside the arena, opened last month.
Seneca Resorts, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seneca Gaming Corporation, is a tribal corporation of the Seneca Nation of Indians which operates gaming operations in Western New York.
Said Sport Business: “Sports wagering at its three gaming properties – Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, and Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino – will begin within the next few weeks. Under current law, New York’s commercial casinos were allowed to start sports betting once the federal ban fell in 2018.”