Green Bay Packers Name Oneida Casino Official Gaming Sponsor, Expands Longtime Partnership

Posted on: August 29, 2019, 08:21h. 

Last updated on: August 31, 2019, 01:32h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The Green Bay Packers, for the first time in the storied franchise’s 100-year history, has an “Official Casino” sponsor.

Green Bay Packers casino sponsor Oneida
The Oneida Nation gate at the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field could soon include its casino branding. (Image: Packers.com)

On Wednesday, Packers brass announced the nearby tribal Oneida Casino as the team’s official gaming partner. The news expands the two entities’ longtime collaboration.

Owned and operated by the Oneida Nation Indians, the tribe has had its logo prominently displayed at the Packer’s historic Lambeau Field since 2002. The east side entrance of the football stadium is the Oneida Nation Gate.

Until the National Football league (NFL) reversed its policy nearly a year ago, teams were barred from striking sponsorship deals with casinos that offered sports betting. That changed in September of 2018 following the Supreme Court’s repeal of the longstanding ban on sports gambling.

NFL Sports Betting

Professional football generates the largest handle for US oddsmakers. That’s why a Nielsen Sports study concluded that the NFL stands to profit more than $2.3 billion annually from sportsbooks expanding to new states.

As a result of heightened interest – those who bet on games watch many more – the league is expected to see advertising rates climb, and subsequently increase its television broadcast deals in the years ahead.

That isn’t to say the NFL is fully embracing legal sports betting. The league’s revised stance allows teams to accept sponsorships from casinos with sportsbooks. But advertising their sports betting operations remains prohibited.

That isn’t a concern for the Packers and the three Oneida Casino locations near Lambeau, as sports betting remains outlawed in Wisconsin. The Badger State is one of just seven states in the US that hasn’t seen even one piece of sports betting legislation introduced.

Casino Deals

The Oneida Casino isn’t the first gaming venue to hop on board with an NFL team in an official “casino sponsor” capacity in wake of the league’s advertising rule change.

“America’s Team,” aka the Dallas Cowboys, wasted little time in partnering with the WinStar World Casino Resort to becoming the official casino sponsor of the team and Jerry’s World, aka AT&T Stadium. The self-proclaimed biggest casino in the world is located 85 miles north of the Cowboys home in Oklahoma.

Jerry Jones, the billionaire owner of the franchise, seemed a bit detached from the middle class American when he spoke of the partnership.

I get on my helicopter right here on the practice field and land in 20 minutes and be at WinStar. Certainly, Oklahoma is a great Cowboy fan ,base and we literally almost can see them up the road, so this was an ideal situation for us,” Jones declared.

Caesars Entertainment scored a partnership deal with the future Las Vegas Raiders at the team’s $1.8 billion Allegiant Stadium, just west of the Strip. Announced last fall, the casino operator said its 15-year arrangement will give its best customers access to the Caesars “Owners Suite” on the 50-yard-line, VIP dinners on the field, stadium tours, and general game tickets.

The Caesars and Raiders deal will also place the casino’s logo at various locations throughout the venue, including a Caesars-branded entrance.