Both the NBA and WBNA have signed a deal with MGM Resorts International regarding access to sports data. Sports betting across the U.S. is branching out of Las Vegas and this deal is a win for the casino giant and the basketball leagues. MGM will pay the leagues for the data and will use the data to research gaming outcomes. The NBA has stated that they plan on gathering the most accurate data to ensure fair playing for bettors.
“I know the value of data. To be able to have the official NBA data for sports bettors around the world is very valuable. I was willing to, and I’ve paid for that,” said MGM chairman and CEO James Murren.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been communicating with Murren for some time now and is happy to start this process. Silver is excited about the data exchange and compensation.
“It’s a leap of faith on both sides. It’s a deal moderate in length where I think we can both step back and assess as we go and see, ‘It is working? Is this deal fair? Are we providing the consumers with the right type of experience?’,” said Silver.
This is the first deal between a U.S. casino and a professional sports league in U.S. history.
“We understood the value of our marks, of official designations. But I think then in terms of the data we’re providing, we have a sense of the magnitude of the current business and a sense of where things may go over the next few years,” said Silver. “And I’d say we generally tried to approximate in a sense to come up with what we thought was fair compensation.”
“What this relationship entails is access to official data for the many casinos that MGM operates,” Silver said. “It’s the use of the NBA’s intellectual property and as we’ve discussed before we’re very focused on integrity provisions to protect our fans, to protect those who choose to engage and bet on the NBA.”
“This is a whole new world for us,” said Silver.
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