Washington Capitals. Pictured: Capitals jersey with Caesars Sportsbook patch.
For years, European soccer clubs have had betting sponsors on their jerseys. On Friday, the Washington Capitals ushered in a new era in major American sports, as they became the first club to put a sports betting brand on their game jersey.
The team announced Friday that Caesars Sportsbook would have its logo on the team’s home and alternate jerseys worn for home games on the league prescribed 3 inch by 3.5 inch patches on the right chest area.
BREAKING: @CaesarsSports gets first and third jersey patch on @Capitals for home games, first major American sports team to have gambling logo on game jersey.
Brand has sportsbook inside Capital One Arena. pic.twitter.com/Ew29pWyG9D
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 24, 2021
The team’s home, Capital One Arena, was the first major sports team venue to open an 18,000 square foot sports book inside. It opened as a William Hill establishment earlier this year but became Caesars once the Caesars deal to buy William Hill went through.
In a unique situation, the Caesars app works within the arena and within a two block radius, per Washington D.C. betting rules.
The gambling patch comes as some European clubs begin to downgrade the outward exposure of gambling brands.
On Thursday, the Bolton Wanderers, a team in England’s third tier of soccer, turned heads when they announced they would no longer partner with sports gambling brands and wouldn’t have odds displayed on site anymore.