By Barry Janoff
July 31, 2018: When the Supreme Court in May ruled to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, it opened the doors for a plethora of deals that had been hidden under tables.
The NBA, which has been at the forefront of pushing for legalized betting — and also to be compensated for the rights to use its statistics and data — has signed a multi-year partnership naming MGM Resorts International the official gaming partner of the NBA and WNBA.
The partnership is the NBA’s first with a sports betting operator in the U.S. and is the first of its kind between MGM Resorts and a major professional sports league.
The deal was unveiled by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and MGM Resorts International chairman and CEO Jim Murren at a media event in New York.
"Jim and I had an opportunity to spend a fair amount of time together in July when I was in Las Vegas for the Summer League and we said let’s take advantage of this opportunity to do something historic," said SIlver during the media event. "To enter into the first commercial partnership between a gaming establishment and the NBA."
MGM Resorts International had a hand up in signing the deal, having been title sponsor for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas for the past two seasons and also majority owner of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, which relocated from San Antonio for the 2018 season.
Among the layers in the alliance, MGM Resorts will have rights to use official NBA and WNBA data and branding, on a non-exclusive basis, “across MGM Resorts’ land-based and digital sports betting offerings throughout the U.S.”
Financial terms were not shared, but were put at $25 million over three years by industry analysts.
MGM Resorts and the NBA said they would partner on “best-in-class practices to protect the integrity of NBA and WNBA games, including anonymized real-time data sharing.”
The NBA and MGM Resorts will also work together to create a series of integrations across NBA platforms, including a special digital content series.
MGM Resorts will be promoted across the NBA’s digital assets, including NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA social media platform.
The NBA will be promoted across MGM Resorts’ sports betting platforms.
According to the NBA and MGM Resorts, “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.”
“As the landscape for sports betting in the U.S. continues to evolve at a rapid pace, MGM Resorts is a proven gaming leader for us to work with on this groundbreaking partnership,” said Silver.
“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.”
"Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to do something historic. To enter into the first commercial partnership between a gaming establishment and the NBA."
The NBA, then led by commissioner David Stern, had a serious situation ten years ago when Tim Donaghy, who was a league referee from 1994-2007, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony associated with charges that he had bet on NBA games, including those in which he officiated, and had provided outside sources with insider information such as the health of players and which refs would be assigned to which games.
The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played in Las Vegas in UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center. The NBA did not allow wagering within the state of Nevada on the results of the game.
Under the Supreme Court ruling, each state is overseeing how, and if, legal sports betting would be conducted within their respective borders.
Silver, who became NBA commissioner in February 2014 and has held executive positions with the NBA since 1992, wrote an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times, published Nov. 13, 2014, “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting.”
“Some estimate that nearly $400 billion is illegally wagered on sports each year.,” he wrote.
“There is an obvious appetite among sports fans for a safe and legal way to wager on professional sporting events.
“Let me be clear: Any new approach must ensure the integrity of the game. One of my most important responsibilities as commissioner of the NBA is to protect the integrity of professional basketball and preserve public confidence in the league and our sport. I oppose any course of action that would compromise these objectives.
“I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated,” wrote Silver.
According to Murren at the media event in New York, “The NBA has always been an innovator at the forefront of sports evolution, and MGM Resorts is thrilled to partner with the league to revolutionize sports betting in the United States.
“Integrating the NBA’s assets and having official NBA data showcased across the MGM Resorts platforms will provide us with a distinct advantage and instill more confidence in knowing that our data is directly from the NBA.”
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