With New York legislators announcing that they are making legal sports betting a priority in the state this year, many locations are getting ready to grab a piece of this very lucrative pie. Media outlets report that Madison Square Garden (the company and the arena) is getting ready to enter the sports betting space as soon as it becomes legal and regulated in the Empire State.
According to The Action Network, the company filed MSG as a trademark in “downloadable mobile applications for sports wagering, for organizing, arranging, conducting, and participating in sports wagering tournaments, for providing information related to sports betting.”
The trademark was filed with the intention to use the MSG brand for “interactive peer-to-peer gambling competitions and tournaments.”
It is expected that New York will be one of the first states to legalize sports betting this year. Madison Square Gardens is not the first stadium or sports team to prepare for legal sports betting.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We have said we’re very interested in the opportunities legalized sports gaming could bring and recognize that we have a brand, in MSG that is recognizable around the world for its connection to iconic sports.”
A trademark lawyer has commented that the paperwork signed by MSG shows that the company has a “bona fide intent” to use the trademark for the goods and services it will supply, and it was not just taken out as a precautionary measure as suggested by others.
