Chicago White Sox Announce Partnership with Caesars Sportsbook

On Thursday May 5th, the city of Chicago was flush with gambling news both for brick and mortar as well as online. Bally’s River West location was selected as a finalist for a Chicago casino. Later on that day, Caesars Entertainment was named the official casino partner of the Chicago White Sox. Additionally, Caesars Sportsbook was named the official sports betting partner of the White Sox. While there is no official length to the partnership, it seems that the White Sox and Caesars will be working together for years to come. This partnership builds on the Caesars brand in Illinois with other gaming operations across the state like Harrah’s Metropolis, Harrah’s Joliet, Grand Victoria Casino Elgin, and Horseshoe Hammond.

The partnership between the two brands will be beneficial to both sides. Caesars now has complete usage of White Sox logos and creatives to use on the Caesars website. Additionally, Caesars will have advertisements on and around Guaranteed Rate Field. The goal of these ads are to be visible in the stadium whether you’re watching the game from home or you’re actually at the field. Caesars will have a dedicated sign in right field and channel lettering on top of the video board in left field. For White Sox fans, they can earn points on their Caesars Rewards account by betting on the White Sox. These points can be redeemed for all sorts of White Sox prizes including exclusive events with the team.

Struggles In Illinois

While no word of an in-person sportsbook has been announced at Guaranteed Rate Field, one would suspect the potential to add one in the future, especially considering the competition in the Chicago area. DraftKings is currently building a retail sportsbook with its partnership with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Just a few miles away from Wrigley, FanDuel is building a sports gambling lounge at the United Center which is the home of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. PointsBet also has a foot in the Chicago area with a sportsbook at the Hawthorne Race Course. 

This move was done with the plan in place for Caesars to make their mark in the state of Illinois. Caesars has struggled to get their share of the online casino and sportsbook market as they have only surpassed the $20 million per month handle (the amount wagered at a Sportsbook) once since going live in September 2020. By providing online gambling options to one of the top teams in the state, Caesars has a direct way to market and target specific fans that they hope will turn into players at the sportsbook operator. 

While most online gambling companies launched a month or two ahead of Caesars, they rank near the bottom compared to the top operators in the space. Caesars, as of April 2022, has a handle of $187 million at their sportsbook. DraftKings and FanDuel, who both launched in August of 2020 have over $3 billion in handle. PointsBet, which launched after Caesars in September 2020, has a handle of $2.1 billion. Even Barstool Sports, with a launch date of March 2021, has a $577 million handle.

A Blooming Partnership

The CEO of Caesars Entertainment, Tom Reeg, said that the White Sox have some of the most fanatic sport fans in the country in Illinois and it was the perfect time for Caesars to partner themselves with a historic team like the Chicago White Sox. They believe that the Caesars product will give White Sox fans and fans of other teams in the state a memorable, one of a kind sports experience through their top of the line resorts and the newly launched Caesars Sportsbook app which is available on Apple and Android devices. 

The White Sox Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer said that the deal between the two companies was an easy decision. The partnership delivers the shared commitment and brand recognition to offer White Sox fans a wonderful entertainment and sport experience by teaming up with Caesars, an internationally recognized entertainment leader. Now that the White Sox have a better product on the field, the Caesars partnership can help and boost enjoyment for the fans with exclusive programs and experiences.