In his capacity as a Columnist for California Sports Lawyer®, Founder Jeremy Evans has written a column about the reasoning behind the growing list of partnerships among entertainment, media, and sports and sports betting companies with the potential of sports betting legalization in the fifth largest economy in the world, California.
You can read the full column below.
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The entertainment, media, and sports industries continue to grow through partnerships with complimentary partners. Front Office Sports reports that there is a growing list of sports betting and media companies that have joined forces in some fashion. These partnerships make a lot of sense because media companies have production and distribution expertise through broadcast and streaming, but those same studios and networks lack the sports betting content or expertise. By brokering deals with content creators that have a history in gambling fulfills a need that studios and networks want.
The partnerships between media and sports betting and data companies have taken time to develop because the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018) United States Supreme Court case involving the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that overturned Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that outlawed gambling opened the door to the fifty states pursuing legislative thresholds and schemes. However, state legislatures and voters weighing in takes time and in 2022 (four years later) more than half of the states have legalized gambling.
The sports and media partnerships also make sense because of the potential for impropriety between studios and networks and sportsbooks. Studios and networks have to be impartial and avoid legal issues with licensure. Sportsbooks provide the expertise and approved license from the state government agencies to accept bets, while the studios and networks provide the production and distribution knowledge and access.
There is continued evidence of streamers and studios purchasing sports content as well, which will inevitably provide opportunities to sportsbooks and data companies that collect statistics in sports. Apple currently has sixty “sports” related jobs listed on its website so the department is clearly primed for growth. It is also not hard to imagine social media being intertwined with sports betting in the near future. Twitter is will be actively promoting its live audio tab that will promote podcasts. What better place for sports betting than to be available on social media applications in mobile-betting friendly states. Of course, such coordination would require some serious thought on implementation and issues with youth, indebtedness, and addiction.
Another example of coordination is IAC/InterActiveCorp, a group of media and internet companies, purchasing $41.7 shares of MGM Resorts. As IAC is an internet company, it makes sense that the company would be looking for content, sportsbook, and casino partnerships like the one with MGM. MGM is also about to launch the iconic entertainment Sphere in Las Vegas and is considering selling Madison Square Garden. At this point, denying that there is an explosion of sports betting in the United States as another gold rush of cash and investment would be unwise. Betting on the growth of sports betting especially with California voters having the opportunity to vote for sports betting in November, the world’s fifth largest economy, it will have a significant impact on the continued growth of sports betting and the partnerships
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About Jeremy M. Evans:
Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clientele in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.
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