Close relationship
BetMGM has become the exclusive sports betting partner in the United States of The Athletic. The deal, announced on Thursday, will see the growing digital sports media company develop “The Athletic Betting Hub.” This new vertical will focus on sports betting-related video, audio, and digital content, with integration of BetMGM promotions and live odds.
The Athletic has an incredibly engaged and loyal readership”
Speaking about the partnership, BetMGM chief revenue officer Matt Prevost said: “The Athletic has an incredibly engaged and loyal readership and we look forward to introducing their fans to the BetMGM sports betting brand.”
The Athletic’s general manager for content operations Evan Parker echoed these sentiments. He spoke about how BetMGM has been a pioneer in the online gaming sector and that it is the ideal sports betting partner. Talking about future plans, he said: “….we share a joint vision for how to seamlessly blend media, analysis and betting into unique, premium experiences for The Athletic subscribers.”
Familiar territory
BetMGM looks to leverage the media firm’s user base through this deal. The Athletic currently has over one million subscribers worldwide and has been hiring people for sports betting-related positions in recent weeks. Founded in 2016, the company is still experiencing growth, with its 600+ full-time workers covering almost 300 professional and college sports teams.
overall experience on The Athletic will mostly remain unchanged”
According to a feature by The Athletic’s managing editor of fantasy Nando Di Fino, the process of entering a partnership with BetMGM took about eight months. He also emphasized that the “overall experience on The Athletic will mostly remain unchanged.”
BetMGM has already signed a similar partnership with Yahoo! Sports that has been very successful as Yahoo! Sports is now the operator’s biggest affiliate. Yahoo! Sports users can use their account details to bet with BetMGM.
Expanding its reach
BetMGM has been busy expanding its operations across the United States as legal online gaming goes live in more and more jurisdictions. In the past couple of weeks, the joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Entain Plc has launched online sportsbooks in Michigan and Virginia.
This means that BetMGM now has sportsbooks up and running in ten states, including Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, and Tennessee. It also has plans to open an in-stadium sportsbook in Washington, D.C. through its deal with the Washington Nationals.
In addition to its sports betting operations, BetMGM is also in the online casino space. To date, these platforms are live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan.
