The sports betting landscape is still being formed four years after the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that prohibited sports gambling in most states.
Since then, many states have opened up sports books, with about two dozen so far offering online gambling options that let users place their bets from the convenience of their own couch.
And the big industry players have scrambled ever since to vacuum up as much of 2021's $57.2 billion in handle, or amount of money wagered, and $4.3 billion in revenue, according to the American Gaming Association, as possible.
Now BetMGM, a subsidiary of MGM Resorts (MGM), is teaming up with one of the biggest media companies in the country to advertise its sports betting platform in order to get a bigger piece of the pie.
Shannon Finney/Getty Images for MGM National Harbor
BetMGM Teams With NBC Sports
BetMGM announced the launch of a partnership with Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC Sports for the 2022 NFL season that will feature weekly integrations on NBC's flagship Football Night in America Sunday night broadcast.
BetMGM will also be featured on the pre-game and post-game shows, which the company says is the most-watched studio show in sports.
“It is a tremendous opportunity to partner with the talented team at NBC Sports and have the ability to engage with football fans nationwide,” said Matt Prevost, chief revenue officer for BetMGM. “We look forward to delivering NBC viewers our BetMGM trading team insights as well as entertaining segments that showcase the excitement of betting with BetMGM.”
While BetMGM did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, if the amount of money spent on industry advertising is any indication then the money on the table is substantial.
Companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on sports betting advertising that seems ubiquitous both on television and internet platforms.
BetMGM rival Caesars Entertainment (CZR), for example, has previously committed to spending $1 billion on marketing for its sports betting platform.
“As we continue to innovate within the rapidly growing sports-betting marketplace, this new partnership with BetMGM will allow NBC Sports to engage more fans across multiple platforms," Will McIntosh, NBC Sports Next president said.
Sports Betting's Popularity
A LendingTree survey of about 1,600 Americans, shows that 41% of us will spend money on sports this fall. A total of 21% said they would spend on tickets for games, 16% for merchandise, 15% on food and alcohol and 8% on sports betting.
Football is by far the most popular sport to gamble on, with 73% of respondents planning to gamble on the sport.
A total of 8% also said they’ll spend on streaming packages to watch sports, and 8% said too that they’ll spend on travel to attend games.
The spenders on average plan to dole out a total of $664 this fall, according to the study.
The income breakdown looks like this:
- Those with income of $100,000 or more a year plan to spend $931.
- Those with income of $75,000 to $99,999 plan to spend $900.
- Those with income of $50,000 to $74,999 plan to spend $571.
- Those with income of $35,000 to $49,999 plan to spend $483.
- Those with income of less than $35,000 plan to spend $382.
