NEW YORK, March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) and Major League Soccer (MLS) today
announced a historic multi-year strategic partnership that
establishes MGM Resorts as the league's first official gaming
partner and Roar Digital (Roar), the joint venture between MGM and
GVC, as the exclusive Official Sports Betting Partner of MLS.
The landmark deal provides MGM Resorts and Roar access to:
- Enhanced MLS data for fans and sports betting customers
- Television-visible signage for all 100+ nationally broadcast
games
- Unique MLS-themed promotions and sweepstakes utilizing MLS
prizing
- Match footage and photography
- MLS talent and a host of mutually beneficial hospitality and
event opportunities in Las Vegas
and beyond
MLS and MGM Resorts, along with Roar Digital, will also develop
an exclusive "Free to Play" game for fans to deepen fan engagement,
drive adoption of sports betting in regulated states and build a
base of potential sports bettors in states where regulation is
still to be adopted.
The agreement grants MGM Resorts and Roar activation
opportunities at major MLS events, including the MLS All-Star Game
and the MLS Cup championship game. MGM Resorts and Roar will
amplify the relationship by promoting a range of the companies'
offerings, including Roar's playMGM mobile sports betting app,
across league media platforms. MGM Resorts will also have an
assortment of integrations across MLS social and digital channels,
including an exclusive digital content series.
"Major League Soccer is proud to partner with MGM Resorts to
bring existing and new fans close to our sport in innovative and
immersive ways," said MLS Commissioner Don
Garber. "MGM Resorts is a leader in sports betting, and they
recognize the progress of our league and the growth of the sport in
the United States and Canada. Together, we will deliver cutting-edge
data and analytics to MLS fans, and fan engagement will be the
driving force behind every initiative in our partnership."
"Major League Soccer offers some of the most exciting sports
action in the business, and we couldn't be more excited to partner
with the league as their official gaming partner," said MGM Resorts
Chairman and CEO Jim Murren.
"Pairing MLS action and real-time data and analytics with MGM
Resorts' best-in-class sports betting operations and innovative
technology and mobile offerings will truly wow soccer fans and
showcase our shared commitment to providing a thrilling and
immersive sports experience. We look forward to building on our
growth and continued success as a sports, gaming and entertainment
leader."
"This is a fantastic opportunity for Roar Digital and our
customers," added Roar Digital CEO, Adam
Greenblatt, "MLS is one of the fastest growing professional
leagues in the world and has rapidly established a passionate
fan-base throughout the United
States. The partnership positions us to be able to offer our
players a unique blend of best-in-class product and customer
experience."
As a global leader in entertainment, MGM Resorts will work
jointly with MLS to bring world-class soccer events and
entertaining activations to fans in Las
Vegas. Both organizations will work together to protect the
integrity of MLS matches. For information on MGM Resorts'
innovative responsible gambling program, visit
www.mgmresorts.com/gamesense.
ABOUT MLS:
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer features 27
clubs throughout the United States
and Canada, including future
expansion teams in Nashville,
Miami and Austin. The League plans to have 28 clubs in
the coming years. For more information about MLS,
visit MLSsoccer.com.
ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment
company with national and international locations featuring
best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and
conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment
experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and
retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences
through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM
Resorts portfolio encompasses 29 unique hotel and destination
gaming offerings including some of the most recognizable resort
brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around
the world, the company acquired the operations of Empire City
Casino in New York in 2019, and in 2018, opened MGM
Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the
first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The over 82,000
global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for
being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired
Companies®. For more information visit us
at www.mgmresorts.com.
ABOUT ROAR DIGITAL:
Roar Digital LLC is the US sports
betting and online gaming venture, owned by MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) and GVC Holdings Plc (LSE: GVC). Based in
New Jersey, the venture was
established in July 2018 to create a
world-class sports betting and online gaming platform in
the United States, in order to
take advantage of the new opportunities created by the U.S. Supreme
Court's decision to overturn the U.S. federal Professional and
Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). Utilizing GVC's US-licensed,
state-of-the-art proprietary technology platform, Roar Digital
offers sports betting and online gaming via market leading brands
including playMGM and partypoker. The venture will have exclusive
access to MGM's U.S. land-based and online sports betting, major
tournament poker, and online gaming businesses.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking" statements and "safe harbor statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that involve risks and/or uncertainties, including those described
in MGM Resorts' public filings with the SEC. MGM Resorts has
based forward-looking statements on management's current
expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples
of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding the expected benefits to be achieved as a result of the
partnership. Among the important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements include effects of economic conditions
and market conditions in the markets in which MGM Resorts operates
and competition with other destination travel locations
throughout the United States and the world, the design,
timing and costs of expansion projects, risks relating to
international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals
and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or
existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties
described in MGM Resorts' Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form
8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports). In
providing forward-looking statements, MGM Resorts is not
undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements
publicly as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law. If MGM Resorts updates one or
more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that
it will make additional updates with respect to those other
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International