Despite ardently defending the partnerships, it appears Caesars Sportsbook will soon be completely out of the college athletic sponsorship game. Legal Sports Report is reporting that, like MSU, LSU is also discontinuing its partnership with Caesars despite years left on the contract.
PlayFly Sports, the group that manages media rights for both LSU and MSU told LSR that both schools are working with Caesars to terminate the deals. SBC Americas reached out to Caesars for comment but had not received a response at time of publication.
The writing was on the wall in Louisiana, as lawmakers in the House and Senate approved SB 191, a measure that expressly prohibits state schools from entering into marketing partnerships with gaming entities. The House approved the bill last Tuesday and it is currently en route to Gov. Jon Bel Edwards’s desk for signature.
News of MSU’s termination of the deal broke last week. That came after mounting pressure from MSU staff and faculty to back out of the arrangement.
When Caesars was being vetted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Co-President of Caesars Sports and Online Gaming Eric Hession defended the partnerships but did assure the commissioners they would not be pursuing any new college partnerships in the future.
These partnerships are multi-million expenses for Caesars, so, on the bright side for the company, it will cut down on marketing expenses, which is an area most operators are tightening the purse strings on.
The American Gaming Association’s Marketing Code of Conduct prohibits members from entering into partnerships with colleges and universities. Caesars is not an AGA member, nor is PointsBet, which previously had partnerships with the University of Colorado and the University of Maryland that were both terminated earlier this year.
That leaves SuperBook (also not an AGA member) and Denver University as the last sportsbook sponsorship standing.
