Harrahs Louisiana: New Orleans Saints and Pelicans Join Forces

Two iconic New Orleans sports franchises have reached a marketing agreement with Harrah’s New Orleans. The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans have made Harrah’s their official gaming partner in a multi-year partnership announced on Wednesday.

According to an NBA press release, Harrah’s New Orleans will be named “A Proud Casino Partner of the New Orleans Pelicans” and “An Official Casino Partner of the New Orleans Saints.”

The announcement further explains this partnership agreement will see all three brands work together, to include allowing Harrah’s to run Saints and Pelicans promotions that promise “to bring the Saints and Pelicans experience to life.”

Much of the agreement remains under wraps, but the press release did reveal Harrah’s New Orleans will become an “official post-game destination” and establish a Saints-branded area somewhere in the casino in addition to being afforded the opportunity to run custom promotions involving both teams.

In a statement, Harrah’s New Orleans Assistant GM Kathryn Jenkins said this:

“We have been entertaining guests and our community in New Orleans for almost twenty years. With this partnership Harrah’s continues our commitment to our local teams and becomes an essential part of the game day experience. From activations, to memorable events, fans of the Black and gold will be able to call Harrah’s New Orleans their game day headquarters.”

NFL and NBA Preparing for Widespread Sports Betting

The NFL and NBA have been particularly quick to respond and take action since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA earlier this year. Both leagues saw the writing on the wall even before the decision was issued and have been able to pounce on opportunities across the US as state after state passes sports betting legislation.

In August, a committee of NFL owners relaxed the league’s stance that formerly prohibited individual teams from reaching sponsorship agreements with casinos that operate in the sports betting vertical.

That the decision came on the heels of the Supreme Court paving the way for states to legalize sports betting as they see was not coincidental. Within months of the rules change, the Raiders had reached a 15-year partnership with Caesars Entertainment, the Jets with 88 and MGM, the Ravens with Horseshoe Casino and the Cowboys with WinStar World Casino.

The NBA has likewise been busy forming partnerships of its own, including granting sports betting operators access to official league data in order to manage wagers and offer short-term in-game betting markets. Over the last few months, the NBA has reached marketing and data agreements with MGM Resorts, Sportradar and Genius Sports, BetStars and FanDuel.

Now, both leagues are taking action on the chance that Louisiana becomes one of the next states to legalize sports betting. Lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this year to hold a statewide referendum asking residents of every parish if they would like to legalize sports betting in Louisiana.

That effort failed to gain traction after making it through one committee, but Louisiana did manage to hold a referendum to introduce daily fantasy sports in most parishes. The sponsor of 2018’s sports betting bill, State Senator Danny Martiny, has since said he plans to introduce his bill again during next year’s legislative session.