MGM Resorts International is thrilled to announce that it has entered into a sports betting sponsorship deal with the National Basketball League that could be worth up to $25 million.
In terms of the deal, which is a first-of-its-kind between a major league and a sports betting operator, MGM Resorts will become the official gaming partner of the NBA and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Although the precise length of the agreement has not yet been officially released, ESPN’s Darren Rovell has revealed that the amount of US$25 million will be paid over a period of three years.
According to an ESPN report the agreement will allow MGM to use league highlights, names, logos and its direct data feed for live betting with the NBA and WNBA and that MGM will soon launch a mobile sports betting app with the league’s properties appearing on the app.
The agreement will also see MGM Resorts being able to make use of official NBA and WNBA data and branding, on a non-exclusive basis across its portfolio of land-based and digital sports offerings throughout the United States.
The NBA and MGM Resorts will also work together to ensure best-in-class practices in order to protect the integrity of the sport, including anonymized real-time data sharing.
The agreement marks the first move by one of North America’s four major leagues following May’s US Supreme Court ruling to relax sports betting laws in the country.
NBA Chief Commissioner Adam Silver and MGM Resorts President and CEO Jim Murren announced the partnership in a joint statement, saying that for the first time the NBA will open its commercial network to sports betting.
