U of Denver Inks with SuperBook, Second Colorado School with Sportsbook Deal

Posted on: September 5, 2021, 11:10h. 

Last updated on: September 5, 2021, 12:40h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More

Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

While colleges in many sports betting states have sought to distance themselves from sports betting, things are just a little different in Colorado.

On Thursday, the University of Denver’s athletic department announced that it secured a multi-year partnership with SuperBook Sports, a Las Vegas-based sportsbook that offers retail and online sports wagering in the Centennial State.

The Pioneers are a small NCAA Division I school. They don’t have a football team, and the men’s basketball team has never made the NCAA Tournament, dating to the 1903-04 season. But the school has won numerous national championships in men’s ice hockey and skiing.

Karlton Creech, the university’s vice chancellor for athletics, said in a statement that the school was eager to partner with the SuperBook – especially since sports betting becomes “more and more of a passion” for Pioneers fans.

We’re also excited about the opportunity for the proceeds of this partnership to directly impact our student-athletes’ experience at DU,” Creech said.

Financial details of the agreement were not revealed. But the school notes the agreement includes branding, media hospitality, and social media opportunities, all with attention to responsible gaming and education for student-athletes.

Colorado Exceeding Expectations for SuperBook

The DU-SuperBook partnership is the second such relationship between a sports betting operator and a school in the state. Last fall, PointsBet and the University of Colorado announced a deal. Reports indicated the state’s flagship university was to get more than $1.6 million from the arrangement.

For the SuperBook, which opened its retail sportsbook at The Lodge Casino in June, Colorado marks an important milestone. It’s the first state outside of Nevada where it’s launched operations.

It launched the mobile app in Colorado late last year.

“Opening the SuperBook in Colorado as our first expansion market has exceeded our expectations,” SuperBook Vice President for Race and Sports Operations Jay Kornegay said. “We couldn’t be happier that we’ve grown our presence by partnering with such a respected university and athletics program.”

The SuperBook also has plans to launch a mobile app in New Jersey.

College Football Ties In with Sports Betting, Too

The confluence of sports betting and college sports has also emerged within the college football bowl system.

Late last month, Caesars Entertainment and the Fiesta Bowl announced a “first-of-its-kind sports betting and fantasy gaming partnership” as part of a multi-year agreement with one of college football’s biggest bowl games. The deal allows Caesars to host lounges at the State Farm Stadium, where the Playstation Fiesta Bowl will be played, and at Chase Field, where the Guaranteed Rate Bowl will take place on Dec. 28.

Caesars already plans to have a sportsbook next year at Chase Field, thanks to a partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In addition, Barstool Sports recently acquired the sponsorship rights to the Arizona Bowl, which will be played at the University of Arizona’s Arizona Stadium in Tucson on Dec. 31.

Those deals were reached as Arizona gets ready to launch sports betting in the state later this week.