New Jersey Devils with fantasy sports firm

The New Jersey Devils ice hockey club, a member of the US National Hockey League, has signed an agreement with fantasy sports developer Hot Box that features it in a pay-based fantasy game already being promoted on the team’s website.

The game will exclusively focus on Devils games and players and will be heavily driven through social media.

The agreement makes the team what is believed to be the first pro sports outfit in the U.S. to sign such a deal. While several teams have engaged free fantasy games where cash prizes are involved, creating a game that has a fee is taking such deals up a gear for professional sports in the country as gaming and gambling become more closely associated with fantasy sports.

The agreement calls for the Devils to publicise HotBoxSports.com as it introduces a new style of fantasy sports gaming to hockey fans around the world in late November. The sponsorship pact will promote Hot Box Sports throughout the ice hockey team’s assets including in-arena, media and social channels.

The deal has been given the green light by the National Hockey League and is within all regulations with regard to lottery, gaming and fantasy sports, according to team spokesmen.

Terry Lyons, chief marketing officer for Hotbox said this week: “As we met with the NJ Devils, and followed the guidelines set-forth by the NHL, we focused on the fact our deal in Jersey would be a way to engage Devils fans and increase tune-into to home and road NJ Devils games in a way that would benefit everyone. Scott O’Neil and his staff understood the second-screen, social value of a team-based fantasy sports offering.”

Scott O’Neil, CEO of the NJ Devils, said: “Fantasy sports plays an important role in a fan’s experience, and we wanted to bring Devils fans a game where they could focus on their favorite players and their favourite team. Our collaboration with Hotbox Sports, offering both free-to-play games and this first-of-its-kind entry-fee game, will ensure Devils fans have an unrivalled fantasy game experience.”

The NJ Devils are no strangers to ground-breaking deals; last year the team, along with the Philadelphia 76ers, was the first to sign a US sponsorship agreement with online gambling company Party Poker (see previous  reports).

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