MGM Resorts International Establishes Online Betting Partnership With Yahoo Sports

Posted on: October 29, 2019, 10:54h. 

Last updated on: October 30, 2019, 10:19h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

MGM Resorts International and Yahoo! Sports have entered into a long-term relationship that will allow the Las Vegas gaming company to connect its sports betting online platform to the popular sports website.

MGM Resort International, which owns the MGM Grand and other casinos across the country, has entered into a partnership with Yahoo! Sports to integrate its BetMGM sports betting application into the Yahoo Sports mobile app. (Image: MGM Resorts International)

According to an announcement released early Tuesday morning, Yahoo! Sports will serve as an official digital media sports partner for MGM and Roar Digital, a joint venture between MGM and GVC Holdings. What that means is, starting next month, the Yahoo! Sports mobile application will be integrated with BetMGM. That will allow Yahoo readers and viewers to make wagers on games in states where BetMGM can offer online sports betting.

With fantasy sports providers FanDuel and DraftKings dominating the online sports betting market in most states where mobile wagering is allowed, the arrangement with Yahoo! will provide MGM with access to the country’s largest fantasy sports platform.

A Statista study indicated that 39 percent of US fantasy sports players in 2017 played at least in one league run by Yahoo! Sports. That equals the total for DraftKings and FanDuel combined.

This is an exciting partnership for the BetMGM brand and Roar Digital, helping us reach the widest possible audience of engaged sports fans in the US,” said Roar Digital CEO Adam Greenblatt in the release. “The Yahoo! Sports app and digital sports content is enjoyed by 60 million U.S. users every month, while Yahoo! Fantasy Football clocks 9 billion minutes of user time every year. Together, we offer fans a winning combination.”

Even NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke out in support for the partnership, saying that the MGM-Yahoo! relationship will help further connect fans to the games they enjoy.

MGM currently offers mobile sports betting in both New Jersey and Nevada.

Yahoo! Top Sports Website

Beyond fantasy sports, Yahoo! is a major player in sports media. With such noted columnists as Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel on staff, Yahoo! Sports offers news coverage and original content on all major US sports on a daily basis.

According to eBizMBA, which monitors traffic data from Alexa, Compete, and Quantcast, Yahoo! Sports is the most popular sports website in the US. Each month, it attracts 125 million unique visitors. By comparison, ESPN attracts 80 million.

“This partnership marks an important moment for BetMGM in the growing US sports betting sector,” said MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren. “Integrating Yahoo!’s leading fantasy sports operations and content with BetMGM’s world-class sports betting and interactive platform uniquely positions us to drive market share and large-scale adoption among sports fans.”

According to the release, the partners will also work together to produce exclusive live events and run promotional marketing initiatives at select major sporting events. Yahoo! Sports will also host events at MGM properties, and MGM will distribute Yahoo! content across its platforms.

Latest Partnership for MGM

The partnership with Yahoo! is just the latest effort by MGM to establish connections with other sports-focused businesses.

In September, MGM announced an agreement with Buffalo Wild Wings, which operates more than 1,200 sports bars across the country. As part of the arrangement, BetMGM customers who access the app in a New Jersey Buffalo Wild Wings can take part in exclusive promotions.

Currently for the NFL season, bettors can opt-in to receive a free bet of up to $25 if they place a losing bet on an NFL game that goes to overtime.

MGM also worked with Taco Bell on a World Series promotion to set up futures odds for the player who stole the first base in this year’s fall classic.