Caesars Becomes NFL’s First Official Casino Sponsor, Corporate Responsibility A Big Factor In Partnership
- Caesars Entertainment becomes NFL’s first official casino sponsor.
- Caesars Corporate Social Responsibility played a big role in getting the NFL betting deal.
- Gwen Migita, Caesars Entertainment Exec. over CSR, says responsible gaming, representation, and diversity are some of her concerns.
The world of professional sports leagues does not take their sponsorships lightly. That is why Caesars Entertainment, a casino company, taking part in a betting deal with the NFL is such a huge milestone. Caesars Entertainment has become the NFL’s first official casino sponsor, but it didn’t come without good reasoning.
Caesars Entertainment Executive Gwen Migita is over Corporate Social Responsibility for the company. She says CSR played a significant role in the company snagging the betting deal with the NFL. Leagues are looking to be partners with companies and organizations that do goodwill towards the public and benefit the society around them instead of the opposite.
Caesars focus on CSR fits them into this category, making their partnership with the NFL a benefit to the League as a whole. The casino company's focus on Corporate Social Responsibility and ESR (Environmental, Social, and Governance) made them a good candidate for its NFL betting partnership.
For casinos across the nation in the wake of sports gambling legalization, CSR and ESR may be components more stressed in the coming years.
Migita said this focus on using Caesars to make a positive impact on the community via their CSR was years in making. This could mean a possible change in focus for other gambling companies across the United States.
“We actually started looking at this about seven years ago when we were mostly private [Caesars went public in 2012], and we came up with an ESG roadmap for the company as we were setting up our investor relations arm,” said Migita, the Caesars Entertainment Executive.
“I think a lot of companies are really in catch-up mode. So the typical board member might say, ‘Governance is about the board, it’s not part of sustainability.’ But in fact, it really is. There’s so much influence that a sustainability arm, if core to the business, if core to policy, can really drive results and governance,” said Migita.
With sports gambling legalization making waves over the country and many states with legal activity, the need for gambling companies to help contribute to the betterment of society becomes much more prevalent. Legalization comes with greater visibility of gambling companies and facilities and that comes with a greater responsibility to do right by the public.
Migita’s scope of concentration includes diversity, representation, and responsible gaming. All of these things will help contribute to a betting partnership with the NFL that both parties can be satisfied with. LegalGamblingUSA believes that while this is only one casino partnership with one professional sports league, it could signify and open the door for other potential partnerships in the future to benefit leagues and the betting world as a whole.