On Sunday (19 January) BetMGM announced that it had acquired the intellectual property rights to “Family Feud” and “The Price is Right” for online casino, including slots, table games and “non-traditional” casino games. The deal isn’t your average acquisition.
BetMGM didn’t just buy the rights to the use the names, it bought the intellectual property from Fremantle. Because of that, BetMGM can now develop or contract with gaming technology partners to build new games under the brands rather than offer a single or existing game under each brand, executive Matt Prevost explained to iGB.
Ultimately, BetMGM will offer original content under each brand. The acquisition plays to BetMGM’s goal of crafting a seamless omnichannel experience for consumers.
That opportunity means BetMGM could grow the brands and create its own take on each iconic US television show. Both game shows took root in the US in the 1970s and evolved iterations continue to be on the air. The Price is Right had a previous 10-year run from 1956 to 1965.
New games could be online this year
BetMGM hopes to capitalise on that success with with new games online and, eventually, in retail casinos. Prevost said the time to market for digital games (about six months) is much quicker than for physical games. It appears players could see online games in the second half of this year.
Details of the multi-year deal were not disclosed but, going forward, BetMGM will now also have partnership integrations with both shows. In addition, the deal “paves the way of in-game branding across diverse online casino categories”, Fremantle North America COO Suzanne Lopez said via press release.
“Family Feud and The Price is Right are two of the most popular game shows in North America,” BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said via press release. “We look forward to bringing their fun and excitement to our online casino in various exciting ways.”
