*By Michael Teich*
The NBA is continuing its push into the sports betting market. On Friday, the league announced on Cheddar that it inked a deal with UK-based Bet365, bringing its total partnerships with sports betting operators to five.
"Their brand is huge internationally," Kaufman-Ross told Cheddar. "They're one of the biggest players throughout Europe and other parts of the world."
The deal with Bet365 follows the same framework as its previous deals with MGM, FanDuel, FOX Bet, and William Hill. Each of these operators has the right to use official NBA data, utilize marks and logos to create a more authentic product, and will be promoted from NBA.com.
The NBA has been quick to embrace legalized sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban in May 2018. It became the first major U.S. sports league to partner with a sportsbook operator after signing a deal with MGM in July 2018. The NBA monetizes these partnerships in a number of ways.
"In some of our deals, yes we get a royalty on the betting volume," Kaufman-Ross said. "In others, it's more like a flat fee, or a per state fee."
Currently, thirteen states have up-and-running legalized sports betting. Only four of those have true mobile betting. Five more states, plus Washington, D.C., have approved the practice, but sports betting in those regions is not yet operational. The U.S. has handled a total of $12.4 billion in sports bets since June of last year, and the legalization by more states will fuel growth even more, said Kaufman-Ross.
"There's a lot of growth that we think is going to come when new states come online and new states pass mobile betting. And I think what'll be really interesting is that what we've seen thus far, is once a state does pass a law with true mobile betting, it happens very quickly."
In stories sure to move markets next week, investors will be served another full plate of earnings, the July jobs report comes out, and the Summer Olympics continue in Tokyo.
Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team finally has a new moniker, the Guardians. Formerly known as the Indians, the organization made a change to the team name after years of public scrutiny and claims of appropriation of Native American culture. Cheddar’s Hena Doba and Baker Machado provide some additional details into the name change.
Here are your Need2Know stories for Tuesday June 7, 2022:
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