UK-focused bookmaker Midnite has become the National Football League’s (NFL) sports betting partner across the UK and Ireland, agreeing a multi-year deal.
The London-based challenger brand, which has been on an extensive sponsorship and marketing drive over the past year, will have exclusive access to a wide range of league rights, spanning broadcast, content, free-to-play, live games and fan engagement.
The deal follows the return of NFL London for 2026, which kicked off this weekend at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Commanders 30-13.
The Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend (11 October) at the same stadium, before the Jaguars play the Houston Texans the weekend after (18 October) at Wembley Stadium.
There are also plans for the competition to return to Dublin after it debuted at Croke Park last year.
This makes the timing of the Midnite deal fitting, with the operator able to capitalise on any growing NFL hype across the UK and Ireland.
That hype has already been building over time, however, with the UK and Ireland now home to more than 17 million NFL fans.
“The NFL has built an incredible following across the UK and Ireland, and this partnership gives us the opportunity to bring Midnite and the NFL together across a huge range of touchpoints,” said Jonathan Shaw, Midnite’s Vice President of Growth.
“Becoming an official sports betting partner gives us the platform to build our presence around the NFL through broadcast, content, free-to-play and live fan experiences, while the exclusive sportsbook rights provide a strong foundation for how we activate the partnership over the coming seasons.
“We’re looking forward to creating experiences that give NFL fans more ways to engage with the sport and with Midnite.”
Midnite will have access to all licensed marks, including the NFL Shield and Super Bowl logo, as well as to NFL events, and is set to work with NFL UK&I on a curated, season-long, branded content programme.
NFL the next big step for sports-hungry Midnite
As mentioned above, Midnite has gained plenty of attention on these shores over the last 12 months. The catalyst for this may well have been its $35m Series C funding round raised in January.
Since then, the firm has hinted at ambitions to launch in Canada, secured a plethora of marketing deals – notably with four EFL Championship clubs – and launched various advertising campaigns which have gone somewhat viral.
Its ‘Built Different’ radio advert has been the subject of many social media videos, with listeners pointing out just how much of an earworm it is.
Despite some venting annoyance about the advert, and Midnite recently having prior variations of the advert banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) the old adage of ‘any publicity is good publicity’ may be ringing true for Midnite, as it increases its visibility on the way to becoming ‘the Monzo of betting’ and a business with a valuation in the billions.
A deal with one of the most-watched sporting leagues in the world is another bit of proof that this sort of ambition isn’t too far-fetched.
