The Edmonton Oilers have announced they have a new agreement with Play Alberta to display the sports betting and online gambling website logo on their jerseys.
The advertisement will be on the top right corner of the Oilers jersey, which the team unveiled in a tweet on Monday. The logo of GameSense, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission’s responsible gaming program, will be displayed on the teams helmets.
While Oilers fans voiced their disdain for the advertisement, OEG president and chief revenue officer Stew MacDonald said it attests to the organization’s commitment to “communities across Oil Country.”
“We are proud to call Play Alberta the official sportsbook of the Edmonton Oilers,” he said in a statement. “With the revenue generated by Play Alberta going to valued services and programs that help enrich the lives of Albertans, donning the Play Alberta logo on our iconic home jersey is a testament to our long-term commitment to communities across Oil Country.”
In recent years, the Oilers waded into advertisements as a part of their equipment. In 2021-22, they had Rogers advertisements on their helmets while revenue decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, amid a time when teams across the league incorporated jersey ads, they kept advertisements on their away helmets, reportedly having no imminent plans for anything on their jersey. Last season, the team introduced a Play Alberta logo to their helmets.
On Monday, the Washington Capitals announced they would have the logo of TikTok, a short-form video social media company, on the right upper chest of their away jerseys.
During the Stanley Cup Finals last year, the Oilers wore a patch commemorating their appearance in the finals in the same spot the new Play Alberta advertisement is. There’s no word on if the team will have a jersey advertisement on their away jersey.
While teams across the league have had their own jersey advertisements, none appear to keep them on for jersey sales to fans.
