The infamous Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar/restaurant chain announced a new partnership with MGM, which will go under the name Roar Digital. Now, in states that have legal sports betting, customers will be able to wager on games while at one of the many BWW locations.
Roar Digital was established in July 2018 between MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings.
In an announcement on Thursday, on par with the start of the NFL season, MGM Resorts chairman and chief executive Jim Murren and Buffalo Wild Wings president Lyle Tick proclaimed that the goal is to give fans and customers new digital options to take in the game.
“I think one of the things that we’re doing with this partnership is trying to revolutionize the experience … engaging with sports in our restaurant will be different than that which you have on your couch,” said Tick on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.”
While there won’t be any betting kiosks or terminals set up within the establishment, bettors will be able to place wagers on the restaurant’s app, which will take them to BetMGM. This first consumer product won’t accept cash bets, but players can win prizes like trips to Las Vegas or to the Borgata casino in New Jersey for a chance to compete in the first BetMGM sports betting competition.
“The traditional sportsbook has been reinvented,” said Adam Greenblatt, CEO of Roar Digital, a New Jersey-based venture owned by MGM and GVC Holdings. “The sportsbook is now in your pocket on your mobile phone. It’s more powerful for us because we own our own technology and create an end-to-end product, which means we can easily offer better value and customize an experience.”
Crossing Over
We can probably expect MGM odds to be present in Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, and in turn, BWW will encourage its customers to download the BetMGM app while inside the establishment.
“Through your phone, because ultimately we think that’s the most user-friendly way to do it, through our app you’ll be able to engage in a free-to-play game that has prizing and mimics betting behavior, and then through BetMGM, which you’ll be able to access through that, if you wanted to, you’ll be able to actually place bets through MGM,” Tick said.
What’s interesting is that Buffalo Wild Wings is not getting a “direct piece of the betting action,” but it is expecting to get something out of this partnership in the long run.
The plan for the near future is for the two companies to collaborate at MGM properties and sportsbooks, which also includes a new Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar to open next year at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas.
With this deal in place, we can probably expect more establishments to start partnering up with casinos. Just this past year, most of the professional sports leagues got in on the action by partnering with casinos for sports-based analytics and information which can be used for better details and in-game betting options.
