Dallas Cowboys Announce Marketing Partnership With Aristocrat Gaming

The Dallas Cowboys are still looking for help on the football field, but in the meantime they’re gambling on a gaming partnership to give them an extra financial boost. The team has announced a multiyear agreement with Las Vegas-based gaming supplier Aristocrat Gaming, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aristocrat Gaming will have the opportunity to display promotional materials throughout the Cowboys’ home turf, AT&T Stadium. This includes in-game advertisements on the colossal jumbotron during games, a move that is expected to significantly boost the visibility of the Aristocrat brand among the football fanbase.

However, the deal has been carefully structured to respect the current legal landscape regarding gaming within sports venues. As such, Aristocrat Gaming, which finalized its $1.2-billion purchase of NeoGames in April, will not install slot machines or initiate any gaming activities within the confines of AT&T Stadium. Instead, the focus of the partnership is to leverage the Cowboys’ extensive reach to drive traffic to regions where Aristocrat’s NFL-themed slot machines are legally hosted in casinos, particularly in Oklahoma.

Aristocrat has scored multiple NFL agreements

This strategic alliance is not Aristocrat Gaming’s first foray into the NFL world. The Cowboys are the fourth team to enter into such an agreement with the company, following previous deals with the Raiders, Patriots, and Saints. These partnerships underscore Aristocrat’s commitment to expanding its footprint in the sports domain, aligning with teams that have a strong fan following and brand presence.

While the financial details of the Cowboys-Aristocrat Gaming deal remain undisclosed, the implications of the partnership are clear. With in-game signage and external advertisements set to roll out in the upcoming NFL season, both entities are poised to benefit from the increased exposure.

For the Cowboys, this deal represents an innovative way to enhance the game-day experience and engage with fans in a new dimension. For Aristocrat Gaming, it’s an opportunity to tap into a market of passionate sports enthusiasts, potentially leading to increased patronage of its gaming offerings in casino-friendly states.

Sports and gaming continue to merge

The partnership also reflects a broader shift in the relationship between sports and gaming industries. As regulations evolve and public perceptions shift, collaborations that once might have seemed unlikely are becoming more commonplace.

In recent years, several NFL teams have formed partnerships with gaming companies. Notably, the NFL itself has established “tri-exclusive” official sports betting partnerships with Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, and FanDuel. These agreements grant these partners different rights, including things like the ability to leverage NFL trademarks and branding and engage with fans through NFL-themed games.

The Aristocrat Gaming-Cowboys partnership could help put gaming in a more prominent position on the Texas political stage, as well. Las Vegas Sands has been lobbying heavily for lawmakers to approve casino gambling, and having a gaming company featured at AT&T Stadium might help its cause.

However, the partnership won’t signal a done deal for Sands’ efforts. There’s still a lot of pushback to legalized casinos from different levels of government in Texas. Several lawmakers are emphatically against any plan to try to introduce casinos or sports betting.

Even though AT&T Stadium is in Arlington, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson doesn’t seem to be on board, either. He told the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce last December, “Ultimately, no matter what happens [in the state legislation], let’s say one day it gets legalized to have casino gambling. That’s not something that just because the legislature says can happen, [it] just happens.”