Tigers 1st MLB Team Ever to Partner with Sportsbook After PointsBet Contract

The Detroit Tigers are the first team in Major League Baseball history to form a partnership with a bookmaker. 

Per ESPN's David Purdum, PointsBet will have signage displayed at Comerica Park and be featured on affiliated content with the Tigers organization, including the Detroit Tigers Radio Network. 

"I view baseball as arguably the most disruptable sport when it comes to innovation around betting," PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken told Purdum. "I think there's a huge amount of innovation that can happen around baseball betting."

Purdum noted that last year PointsBet "offered betting odds on individual at-bats throughout MLB games" with wagers ranging from the batter hitting a home run to striking out. 

Sports betting was made legal in the state of Michigan when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill into law last December.

Per the American Gaming Association, a total of 18 states and the District of Columbia allow legal sports betting. Four other states have approved legal sports betting but it's not yet operational, while 15 others have active legislation that has yet to be signed into law. 

While Major League Baseball still maintains rules prohibiting all employees, including players, from betting, the league did enter into an official deal with MGM Resorts International in 2018 to serve as the official gaming partner.