Yahoo Sports users in states that have legalized sports betting will find themselves only a few clicks away from a wager beginning next month thanks to a deal that makes BetMGM the exclusive sportsbook provider of the heavily trafficked site. The multiyear agreement will deliver amplified exposure for MGM as sports betting rolls out across the U.S., putting its brand in front of mainstream sport fans who thus far have made daily fantasy brands FanDuel and DraftKings the overwhelming market share leaders in states that offer mobile wagering.
With 60 million monthly users, many of whom are engaged fantasy players, Yahoo Sports sees the partnership as a way to connect its content to transactions, as it has with paid fantasy leagues and daily fantasy games. As a BetMGM affiliate, it will collect revenue from the traffic it delivers.
Guru Gowrappan, the CEO of Verizon Media, the division which includes Yahoo, HuffPost and AOL, said, “Sports and what we’re doing with (sports) betting are the top two priorities that we’re investing in as we go into 2020 and beyond. The world has moved from consuming static content to converging, where consumers are saying -- ‘Hey, I’m watching a game and I’ve started playing games with it in terms of fantasy. Now I also want to go next-level and start betting. We’re just taking this one step farther and closing the loop.”
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