As legal sports gambling becomes increasingly intertwined with professional sports, the Bears on Friday naming PointsBet their first betting sponsor. The terms of the deal allow PointsBet to use the Bears’ wordmark and logo on its app and web site, and explore advertising with the team.
PointsBet said it expects to open brick-and-mortar locations, with Hawthorne Racecourse as the flagship. There is no indication that the company is looking to partner with the Bears on a sportsbook, the way DraftKings and the Cubs have explored. In that controversial proposal— sports gambling is legal in Illinois but technically outlawed in the city — the sportsbook would move into the so-called triangle property near Wrigley Field.