Sports betting is booming in the United States ever since the Supreme Court lifted the ban on such activities in 2018. In fact, sports betting seems to be spreading like wildfire and the latest news that Yahoo Sports and MGM Resorts have agreed on a groundbreaking deal is further evidence of this.
The deal is an impressive one; sports-betting related content from MGM Resorts will be integrated into the Yahoo Sports app. Although it will only apply to users living in or visiting states where sports wagering is legal, the deal sees the American web service provider take advantage of the increasingly expanding American sports betting industry.
What will users experience? Well, users will witness linking and calls to action within the Yahoo Sports app’s content that will redirect users to .
Enhancing fan experience
It has been described – by both companies – as a deal that will set the basis for fan experience and sports betting engagement. In other words, it’s a revolutionary deal.
It’s a way into the sports betting industry for MGMResorts. Its efficient sports betting and interactive platform, merging with the fantasy sports operations and content of Yahoo, place both companies in a unique position. Together, the two will be able to drive market share and large-scale adoption among sports fans – something which has never been done before.
In other words, the deal will provide new and modern ways for sports fans to go beyond content engagement and commercial interaction.
In numbers
If the partnership in words isn’t exciting enough, then the numbers are sure to impress. 60 million users in the US access the Yahoo Sports app and digital sports content with the app’s Fantasy Football notching up a remarkable nine billion minutes of user time annually.
MGMResorts – with a revenue of nearly $10bn in 2013 – can tap into those crowds with things such as best free casino offers and promotions providing exceptional entertainment. It can only be described as a successful combination.
Support from elsewhere
Deals that are praised from outside are deals that need to be taken very seriously. That praise has come from sports commissioners Adam Silver (the NBA) and Gary Bettman (the NHL) who have given their own unwavering support for the agreement.
Silver and Bettman have been crucial in ensuring both the NBA and NHL have been leading forerunners in the sports betting market; in July 2018, the NBA announced a trailblazing deal with MGMResorts – in which it granted the betting company exclusive rights – to become the first professional sports league to boast an official sports betting partner.
The Ice Age wasn’t far behind, however, with the NHL partnering with MGM in September 2019. In fact, like the NBA, the NHL has been one of the more forward-thinking American professional sports leagues regarding sports betting – their founding of a Las Vegas expansion franchise in 2017 epitomizes this.
Radical
It is a radical deal, but one which brings sports betting into the 21st century. Such infiltration into fan communities is essential to growing and Yahoo Sports and MGMResorts have clearly tapped into that. With it, sports betting will never be the same.
