*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."
From the environment to income inequality, many issues can be seen through the lens of our favorite athletes and teams. In this episode, we’re exploring the world of sports.
Ariel Epstein, Sports Betting host & analyst at Yahoo! Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to share her favorite prop bets and her best picks in the NFC Wild Card Round.
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Joe Osborne, Sports Betting Analyst for Odds Shark, dishes out his insight for how to approach a week where some teams choose to sit out their star players.
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Retired gymnast Nia Dennis went viral last year after a video of her gymnastics floor routine highlighting Black excellence gained traction on social media. Now the athlete and UCLA graduate is partnering with juice and plant-based foods company Pressed to promote health and wellness in the new year. "They have helped me start this year off strong and start living a healthier lifestyle," she said.
Apple TV+ is in serious talks for the rights to stream MLB games next season, the first foray into sports content for the platform, according to the New York Post. Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Sports, sat down with Cheddar to discuss how such a deal might impact the tech giant and the sports content industry. "Quite often with new media platforms one of the quickest ways to create and implement a programming strategy — and actually one of the most expensive ways — is to offer up sports content," Berke noted. "So, with this package available, it puts Apple literally in the game and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in offering up a major league sport."
Iain MacMillan, Senior Editor BetSided, joins Cheddar Bets to break down betting underdogs in NCAA Basketball Conference play and the favorites for the Wooden Award.
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COVID-19 continues to impact the world of sports, and most significantly, the NHL. The world's premier hockey league has postponed a total of 104 games so far this season, and a spike in omicron infections has led to a surge in postponements in recent weeks. This comes after the NHL went dark for six days in December because of a COVID-19 outbreak, and after the league decided not to have its players participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics so it can use the time to reschedule postponed games. Yahoo Sports NHL reporter Justin Cuthbert joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
