MGM signs as official betting partner for U.S. National Basketball League
News on 31 Jul 2018
News on 31 Jul 2018
MGM Resorts International hit the US major deals headlines again Tuesday with its joint announcement that it has signed a sports betting sponsorship deal with the National Basketball League that could be worth up to $25 million.
Industry observers noted that this is the first such agreement, but it will probably precede many others following the strike down of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act by the US Supreme Court in May this year (see previous reports).
The agreement allows MGM to use league highlights, names, logos and its direct data feed for live betting with the NBA and WNBA. MGM will soon launch a mobile sports betting app and the league’s properties will appear on the app, according to an ESPN report.
The NBA has been one of the more open and liberal leagues on the issue of sports betting since 2014, and has lobbied for a financial cut of the sports betting action in the form of an “integrity fee”. it is unclear whether integrity fees are included in the three-year MGM contract, but the league is being compensated.
The American Gaming Association praised the compromise, saying such payments should be negotiated via contracts rather than mandated by legislators:
NBA Chief Commissioner Adam Silver and MGM Resorts President and CEO Jim Murren announced the partnership in a joint statement, saying that for the first time the NBA will open its commercial network to sports betting.
“This historic partnership will bring millions of NBA fans and MGM Resorts guests together through an innovative collaboration that will open new and exciting opportunities to engage with each other’s world-class brands and products” Silver and Murren said in a joint statement.
“Our collaboration will result in the best possible gaming and entertainment experience for consumers through the use of accurate, real-time NBA and WNBA data, and our collective efforts to maintain and enhance the integrity of our games.”
MGM’s resorts and sports betting products will be promoted across NBA’s media assets including NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA social media platforms, and the two organisations will work together on special digital content and other integrations.
