The University of Colorado announced Tuesday afternoon that the university has partnered with PointsBet, becoming the first NCAA school to partner with a sports betting company.
The deal is a five-year contract between Learfield IMG College, the media rights holder for Buffs athletics, and PointsBet, a gaming operator that will soon open headquarters in Denver. This will inject money into the CU athletic department at a crucial time when budgets have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to CU’s press release, “Learfield’s deal covers the entire gaming category, including free-to-play sports games, daily fantasy sports, casino, online casino, and retail and online sports betting.