New multiyear partnership
Popular sports media publisher and sportsbook operator theScore (the media app of Score Media and Gaming Inc.) has become an authorized sports betting operator of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Effective immediately, this multiyear deal grants theScore access official NBA betting data. It will also be able to use the NBA logos and marks for its popular sports betting app, theScore Bet. theScore is planning to use this new partnership to enhance its NBA offerings for sports bettors.
multiyear deal grants theScore access official NBA betting data
John Levy, CEO and founder of theScore, shared his thoughts on the deal when it was announced. He said: “This collaboration will help us enhance our offering as we work to provide theScore’s highly engaged media app users a best-in-class integrated betting experience.”
NBA representatives said that this new deal will further the league’s ambition to maximize fan experience as much as possible. This will result in deeper levels of engagement through working with a “company innovating across the spectrum of sports media and betting.”
theScore will also be helping the NBA with its systems to ensure the integrity of NBA matches.
US expansion continues
The company announced plans to enter the sports betting space in December 2018. It launched its sports betting app called theScore Bet in the New Jersey market in September 2019. This made it the first media company to launch a mobile sportsbook in the United States. The app operates legally through a license with the Monmouth Park Racetrack.
This betting app is aligned with the sports media app from theScore. The company plans to expand into other states in the near future.
NBA embracing sports betting
The NBA has embraced legal sports betting since the ending of the federal ban in May 2018.
rule changes have been made by the NBA to cater for a sports betting audience
The league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, is very bullish about the impact sports betting can have on fan engagement. A number of rule changes have been made by the NBA to cater for a sports betting audience.
The NBA already has a number of official sports betting partners. This includes William Hill, DraftKings, the Stars Group, FanDuel, MGM Resorts, and Tabcorp, in addition to theScore.
The MGM Resorts deal alone is worth $25m to the league. It also has a royalty deal in place with these operators. This allows the league to get a slice of all NBA bets.