Yahoo Sportsbook by BetMGM: Launches for NJ Customers
Yahoo Sports is getting into the sports betting business, at least indirectly. Today, Yahoo Sports began integrating odds into sports content. The changes will be visible to all eventually, but readers in New Jersey have the added option to click on the odds to place those wagers through BetMGM Sportsbook.
Betting odds and links to visit BetMGM are now showing to New Jersey visitors through the mobile Yahoo Sports app and online at sports.yahoo.com.
Yahoo Sportsbook Powered by BetMGM
Yahoo uses the phrase “Yahoo Sportsbook” in an announcement published this morning, but that is a bit of a misnomer. Yahoo itself will not be taking wagers. New Jersey users who tap or click on the odds displayed in Yahoo Sports content will instead be directed to the BetMGM app or website to place a bet.
That being said, screenshots included with the announcement show this will be more than just Yahoo inserting links to BetMGM within news articles. The Yahoo Sports app will look a lot like existing mobile sportsbooks with spreads, moneylines and totals displayed prominently:
The difference is in the case of Yahoo Sportsbook, selecting a wager will not add it to one’s betting slip, but rather prompt the user to download the BetMGM app and sign up for an account there to place wagers:
And here’s what NJ visitors to the Yahoo sports desktop website see:
Yahoo Sports + BetMGM Partnership
Today’s changes come as the result of a partnership agreement between Yahoo Sports and MGM Resorts International announced last month.
Details on the inner workings of the relationship have not been detailed, but BettingUSA’s Steve Ruddock noted at the time this seems to be more of an affiliate advertising agreement than Yahoo itself actually launching a sportsbook.
Through this deal, BetMGM gains access to the massive Yahoo Sports user database. As today’s announcement notes, Yahoo Sports attracts 60 million visitors monthly while Yahoo Fantasy users spend upwards of 9 billion minutes per year on the platform.
The partnership will extend beyond the New Jersey market eventually. In a statement, Yahoo said the sportsbook capability will “soon become available to fans in other states where sports betting is legal.”
MGM Resorts will also distribute Yahoo Sports content across its properties and platforms, and allow Yahoo to host live sports events at MGM Resorts properties.
New Customers: Deposit $10 to get $100 in Free Bets
Clicking through to place a wager from the Yahoo Sportsbook app or website takes New Jersey users to a BetMGM landing page offering a new customer welcome bonus: deposit $10 to get $100 in free bets.
The promotional offer is exclusive to New Jersey customers 21+ who sign up for an account and make a first deposit of at least $10. Customers who meet those qualifications will be given ten free bets worth $10 each that may be used to place wagers on any sport.
Each free $10 wager must be used in whole (i.e. no placing two $5 wagers with a single $10 free bet) and they must all be used within seven days. Also, note that free bets will not be included in winnings.
Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher and analyst in the legal gambling industry and is co-founder of BettingUSA.com. As a former professional online poker player, Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.
