Since the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, all states can now regulate and operate online sports betting. While New Jersey and Delaware were quick to jump on the bandwagon with Nevada, a few states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Mississippi joined the ranks later on. Major sports leagues took the opportunity and partnered with reputed sportsbooks to make online gambling accessible to a larger audience. And the partnership between MGM and the NBA is a prime example of the move.
The Makings of a Historic Partnership
The NBA-MGM non-exclusive deal is quite modest by NBA standards. According to the particulars, MGM Resorts gains access to NBA’s branding and data on a non-exclusive basis across its entire digital and physical sports betting establishments including NBA.com and NBA TV.
However, the deal allows the league to retain its ability to partner with other sports betting operators in states beyond MGM Resorts’ base of operations. Likewise, MGM Resorts retains the ability to partner with other major sports leagues, like the NHL or the NFL. Through the partnership, the league generates a modest $25 million in revenue each year, which is chump change by NBA standards.
However, generating direct revenue is not the sole criteria behind the partnership. MGM Resorts will share real-time data with its users, which is more accurate than third-party predictions priorly available. Quicker access to real-time data allows MGM Resorts to configure advantageous betting lines while offering bettors the best possible experience.
The Impact of the NBA-MGM Partnership on the League’s Future
The NBA has a lot to gain from the partnership apart from just the marketing standpoint. The anonymized user data will help mitigate privacy concerns that are a part of the deal while promoting online wagers. These are crucial rewards that cannot be ignored. The NBA can also use the collected data to detect suspicious statistics regarding the players, referees, and coaches.
Moreover, the NBA’s critical demand for an integrity fee according to European norms allow the league to boost revenue by taxing operators and sportsbooks a small percentage of the revenue generated through wagers placed during any of the games. In simpler words, the league gets a share of the pie by default.
Among the numerous reasons cited by the NBA, the leading argument claims sports betting is an inherent part of the game. Hence, the ability of sportsbooks and online operators to generate a profit from the games unquestionably rides on the numerous expenses incurred by the management. In addition, the talent and labour of the players, referees, coaches, workers, and the production teams, etc. must also be rewarded.
Since the sports betting industry neither shares the cost nor the burden of hosting and managing the event, the management thinks its only fair they contribute towards the sports via the integrity fee. If you’re into sports betting and are looking for a reliable bookie, visit Betting Rex. You can also check out the newest online casino sites at Casino Bee.