Tennessee is one of 33 states plus the District of Columbia where sports betting is legal. If I had cared to that evening, I could have gone onto the sports betting app on my smartphone and placed a wager on the game. This all came a few days after the Predators announced a multiyear partnership with another sportsbook, BetMGM, that will include not only signage at their home venue, Bridgestone Arena, but also a BetMGM restaurant and bar. Not only was “ DraftKings Sportsbook” on the yellow jackets worn by the people shoveling up the ice shavings, it was also on the carts they used to collect the ice. Its logo appeared again when crews scurried out to clean the ice during timeouts.

Its name flashed prominently on the Jumbotron above center ice as starting lineups were announced. Amid all the silliness of a modern pro sports experience – the home team skating out of a giant saber-toothed tiger head, the mistletoe kiss cam, a small rock band playing seasonal hits between periods – there was a steady stream of advertising for DraftKings, a company known as a sportsbook that takes bets on athletic events and pays out winnings.

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