The NBA and the WNBA have signed a three-year deal with MGM Resorts as their official legalized gambling partner, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell. The deal is expected to come north of $25 million, giving MGM the rights to NBA and WNBA names, logos, and data feed.
The short-term length of the deal is a direct byproduct of the slim market available from the casino resort, which will inevitably expand as legalized sports betting balloons over the next few years. Both sides could reconvene and strike a new deal as “the most lucrative opportunities figure to come in three to five years when it is projected that more than 20 states will have legalized sports gambling.”
Nearly $1.5 billion was bet on the sport of basketball at Nevada Sportsbooks in 2017, according to Rovell. Nevada Gaming Control has not separated the NBA and the NCAA Basketball on its revenue reports. Sportsbook managers say the NBA accounted for 40-50 percent of the amount bet on the sport.
MGM has properties in Nevada, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey and plans to open another in Massachusetts next month. The company also announced its intentions to acquire Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York, back in May — further expanding its empire to some of the nation's biggest sports markets.
NBA’s three-year deal does not include rights to allow MGM to stream live NBA games on a mobile app that allows gamblers to bet on that app at the same time. That, many believe, is where the big money is.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 31, 2018
The NBA could eventually see player deals balloon into a $300 million figure for supermax players as a direct result of betting revenue, offering a limitless potential, depending on how much both parties extend to make over the next few years of their partnership.
For the WNBA, this new revenue can mean better salaries for the players.
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