The NBA is easily the most forward-thinking league across the major sports in the United States, especially with Commissioner Adam Silver spearheading a variety of efforts to help modernize the game and make it better for the players and the fans.
Notably, Silver has helped pioneer sports betting in the NBA. And in that regard, the league has made major strides, as a virtual sports betting game featuring NBA highlights and footage will make its debut in the U.S. and European gambling markets.
The game is called ‘NBA Last 90,' per David Purdum of ESPN:
“NBA Last 90” will drop contestants into the final 90 seconds of a simulated matchup between two NBA teams and offer wagering propositions on what transpires during the ending of a fictitious game.
NBA partner Highlight Games Limited, a specialist games supplier, stiches together highlights from recent seasons to tell a story of what plays out during the 90 seconds. Contestants will be able to wager on several outcomes, including which team will win, who will score on the first possession and the total points scored by both teams. A random number generator, similar to what's used in slot machines, will determine the outcomes.
Betting on virtual sports is already a booming business in the United Kingdom, where it produced £771.4 million from April 2017 to May 2018 per the ESPN report. The NBA was apparently attracted to the booming industry, not to mention that it gives them another way to engage with the fans.
With this landmark decision, the NBA becomes the first major U.S. sports league to get into the virtual sports betting market — a clear proof the league's global appeal.
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