The National Hockey League (NHL) has announced a partnership and strategic investment with games provider Low6.

Low6 will be the official free-to-play games partner of the league and will continue to develop and support NHL games on its platform.

According to Low6, free-to-play gamified experiences can support the user's sports betting experience and boost customer retention for operators.

The first NHL games from Low6 were released last December in partnership with Bet99, an online sports betting company that provided a number of educational betting tools.

The free-to-play game, NHL PrePlay, gave fans the chance to win CA$100,000, gift cards and weekly ticket giveaways.

Jamie Mitchell, CEO and Co-Founder of Low6, said: “We are thrilled that Low6 has been selected as a free-to-play games provider for the NHL.

“Over the next two years, we will be providing highly innovative games, actionable data and a whole heap of fun for users.

“We look forward to working with the NHL and their commercial partners in activating revenue throughout our gamification suite.”

The second branded game released by Low6 was Pepsi Zero Sugar NHL Goalie Challenge.

The NHL library at Low6 contains a variety of existing hockey-themed games, including NHL Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Bingo and NHL All-Star Fan Vote.

Low6 has confirmed more NHL games will be released throughout the year, including a 2023 Stanley Cup Final Bingo game.

Earlier this year, Low6 partnered with Xtremepush to power its customer communications projects, including marketing communications and promotions.