For players, this is the first legalized betting in the south. It\u2019s also legalized betting in what is already a very competitive gaming jurisdiction. There are over 20 casino companies doing business in Mississippi and it is very likely we will see at least a dozen different offerings before the end of the year. The lack of mobile betting and the geographic diversity of the physical casinos is a hindrance to the price conscious consumer. However, an avid bettor could position themselves in Tunica or Biloxi for a long weekend and have just as much variety in their betting as they would being in Vegas in a long weekend. As I\u2019ve mentioned before in this space, it\u2019ll be very interesting to see how college football lines are dealt. We will wait and see if a regional bias in the lines develops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MGM Announces Mobile Betting in New Jersey This Week<\/h5>\n
In a week of bombastic announcements, MGM CEO Jim Murren casually dropped notice that MGM will have a functioning mobile app in New Jersey by the end of this week. This caught everyone by surprise as it\u2019s been unknown who would be first to market. Obviously, the great deadline has always been the start of the NFL season. \u00a0With William Hill, FanDuel, DraftKings, and MGM having all promised to field horses in the race it was unclear who would be first out of the gate. It appears that will be MGM.<\/p>\n
A lot of unknowns still on this one. First, will it be a new app or have they expanded the geo-fencing of their existing PlayMGM sports app? If it is a new app will it be GVC technology or the IGT technology? The latter is what Nevada players have become familiar in using on the PlayMGM app. Will the app enable users to sign-up, deposit, and withdraw without ever having to go to the physical sports book?<\/p>\n
Mobile apps are going to be transformative in the emerging sports wagering markets. The adoption rate of the mobile apps has increased in Nevada over the past couple years. However, the majority of bettors in New Jersey will be residents who don\u2019t want to deal with traffic in the country\u2019s most densely populated state. Market projections have stated that 80% of the handle in New Jersey will come from mobile betting. It\u2019ll also be interesting to see if casinos offer different odds on the mobile apps. Revenue from wagers made on mobile apps is taxed at a rate 5% higher than the in-person wagering tax rate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MGM Announces Partnership with NBA<\/h5>\n
Ok, I admit it, I buried the lead. This was groundbreaking. This was monumental. This was unheard of just a couple years ago. This is making the NFL very uncomfortable. The NBA announced on July 31st<\/sup> that they have signed a partnership with MGM in which the gaming company becomes the official sports wagering provider of the NBA. In return, MGM gets licensing use of NBA logos, brand, data, and game highlights. Effectively, the NBA has found a way to get their \u201cintegrity fee\u201d by side-stepping the states and going straight to the casinos.<\/p>\n For years sports leagues have shunned the idea of taking on advertising from sports wagering companies let alone name one as their preferred partner. This represents a change in culture. You can expect the game lines to be openly talked about around the NBA now. You can expect the NBA to list the current MGM odds to win the NBA Championship on their website.<\/p>\n The biggest reason I think this should be considered groundbreaking is the potential synergy between the league and the bookmaker. The NBA was very careful not to give streaming rights away in this deal. That will be worth much more than the reported $25 million that MGM is paying for 3 years of partnership. Eventually, a sports league will sell the streaming rights to their sport to a bookmaker. That company will develop an app that allows you to watch a game and bet on the action in-game without ever leaving the app. It\u2019s a synergy we\u2019ve already seen in Europe and it\u2019ll eventually come to the US.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn\u2019t even touch upon some of the other interesting developments that occurred this week. There\u2019s finally a casino willing to pay to play in PA. Meanwhile, Caesars launched sports betting in Atlantic City. In the hopes of more rapid publication, I\u2019m will attempt to cover updates between blog posts by posting them as comments to my last blog. Be sure to scroll down to read the updates. Of course, I look forward to your feedback regarding both the MGM announcements as well as the other topics.<\/p>\n It has been quite a week for MGM Resorts\u2026and at the time I\u2019m composing this blog, it\u2019s only Wednesday, August 1. MGM\u2019s actions this week have a broad reach across the entire sports wagering industry. Let\u2019s highlight each one and discuss the effect it might have for players. MGM Partners with GVC on New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":63070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[1068,1795,1079,1796,174],"yoast_head":"\nIt\u2019s Happening Fast \u2013 Too Fast<\/h5>\n
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