BetMGM announced a partnership to become its exclusive partner for live sports betting odds with X. X was formerly Twitter.
BetMGM is a joint-venture between Entain, MGM Resorts and MGM. The company called the partnership a “first of its kind”, with BetMGM odds and brand integrated into the social media platform.
In the beginning, the odds displayed will only include professional American Football. However, the other major sports (both professional and college) are likely to be added in the coming weeks.
Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM’s chief executive officer said that X was the center of sports conversation around the world 24 hours a days and seven days a weeks. Direct access to that platform is a unique opportunity for us to reach a highly engaged and passionate audience.
Linda Yaccarino added that “sports are never a sleepy subject on X, and with BetMGM’s strategic partnership, our fans can be found in front of the action.” “We’re bringing sports lovers on X closer to the action, so that they can cheer and bet on their favorite teams.”
Done deal in time for Super Bowl
This partnership has finally been finalized just in time to bet on the Super Bowl. The game, which will take place at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, is expected to bring in record betting numbers.
American Gaming Association predicts that Americans will place $23.1bn in wagers (PS18.4bn/EUR21.5bn), on the Super Bowl this weekend, between the Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers.
AGA estimates that $16bn will be wagered more on the Super Bowl this year than last, after surveying 2,204 adults. The AGA expects 67.8 millions people to bet, a record number. This is also an increase of 35% year on year.
BetMGM has a special focus on where bettors will place their bets. Of the 28.7 millions, or 11%, of bettors who are expected to bet online, BetMGM expects that they’ll bet with an authorized sportsbook.
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X, with a user base reported to be over 500,000,000, and a large number of users who are engaged in sports, will enable BetMGM to use an effective acquisition model to increase its market share.
Even deeper integration of the BetMGM app and website could be possible with X. Whether BetMGM will ever be able to gain exclusive advertising access to X is yet to be determined. This depends largely on the amount of money offered.
This deal can be compared to ESPN Bet. ESPN Bet is the result of Penn’s $1.5bn agreement with Disney owned ESPN, which owns the biggest sports media brands in the US. BetMGM uses social media instead of sports.
If X allows bettors place bets via BetMGM’s app, this could prove to be a very interesting area. BetMGM could be able to maximise the social aspects of X if they can figure out how to do it.
BetMGM exceeds revenue forecast
BetMGM announced this week that it has generated nearly $2bn of revenue by 2023. This is the highest amount in its range.
The revenue for the year ending 31 December 2023 was $1.96bn. According to its December business update, BetMGM is on course to achieve a positive EBITDA by 2026 of $500m. It is achieving this despite expecting to have a negative EBITDA for 2023 of $67m.
BetMGM’s continued growth is largely due to the North American expansion. BetMGM has now launched in Ohio, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, among other places.
BetMGM claims to have a sports betting market share of 14% in the US. It hopes that the X agreement will boost this share. It also claims to hold 22% of Ontario’s market share in Canada.
