Melbourne-headquartered online sports betting platform, BetEasy, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) recently announced a partnership making Canada’s Stars Group (TSGI.TO) majority-owned bookmaker the first official betting partner of the North American men’s professional basketball league in Australia.

The global leader in the online and mobile gaming and interactive entertainment industries [The Stars Group] became an authorized gaming operator of the league in the U.S. in December 2018.

Official betting partner:

According to the official press release…

Under the terms of the new agreement, BetEasy will, as the exclusive and official betting partner of the NBA in Australia, have use of league assets in marketing materials. Its products will be promoted directly to fans of the NBA in the sovereign country.

Promotional tools:

Set to launch later this year in AU is the free-to-play game, “NBA Pick‘Em: Weekly 6,” which BetEasy will also be the presenting partner of and where fans have the opportunity to win prizes when they predict NBA games.

Throughout Australia, NBA’s online platforms and BetEasy’s assets will see the partnership promoted and will include the NBA’s localized Twitter and Facebook accounts, the NBA app and the league’s official local destination.

Responsible wagering:

Official NBA betting data will be used by the sports betting platform, which will also work closely with the league to ensure the integrity of the game and to promote responsible wagering.

William Hill exit:

Following last year’s introduction of the credit betting ban in AU and the proposed introduction of a point of consumption tax introduced the year prior, William Hill Australia was put up for review and subsequently sold to CrownBet, the online sportsbook operator owned by The Stars Group, for AUD$300m (US$244 million). The Stars Group also owns PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Fastest-growing sport:

Commenting on the new partnership, Chief Executive Officer, Matt Tripp, said…

“Basketball is the most-popular and fastest-growing sport for Australian wagering customers and our partnership with the NBA will allow us to offer the best NBA betting experience for our customers.”

For its part, NBA Asia Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Scott Levy, said…

“As we continue to explore international opportunities in the sports betting space, we are thrilled to extend our partnership with The Stars Group to include BetEasy in Australia.”

“set the standard”

Australia has set the standard for cooperation between leagues and sports betting operators, and we are excited to leverage the local and global expertise of BetEasy to create the best possible gaming experience for our passionate NBA fans in Australia,” added Levy.

BetEasy launched its website and mobile apps in Australia back in 2014. At the time, Tripp said that what was then his new venture would cater to punters in a way they had never experienced before.