Maybe the biggest thing that jumped out from the NHL’s official press release Thursday announcing William Hill as the official sports betting partner of the league, but this item: “Betting on NHL games has increased 38% during the 2018-19 season at William Hill’s Nevada Sports Books. ”

As the sport that has always lagged far behind the other big three North American pro leagues when it comes to the overall betting take as sports books, this statistic might be the most encouraging aspect of all for a league that once was wary of dipping its toes into the world of sports betting.

As part of the agreement, the NHL will derive marketing revenue from William Hill, and William Hill will have rights to league brands in their own marketing. Terms of the multiyear deal were not disclosed.

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