BetMGM, the sports betting and online casino joint venture between MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings, has appointed Ryan Spoon as Chief Operating Officer.
Spoon will begin a new role in November, with an office at BetMGM’s headquarters in New Jersey. Mr. Spoon will report to Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM’s CEO.
BetMGM CEO Greenblatt said, “BetMGM has had early success in establishing itself as a primary player in the sports betting world. BetMGM has forged partnerships with sports leagues, teams, and other partners. With Ryan’s expertise in developing engaging and scaled digital experiences, BetMGM can leverage those partnerships in totally new ways.”
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An Accomplished Under-40 Executive
Ryan Spoon has been honored twice as a Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 winner. Most recently, the talented young executive served as Senior Vice President of Social and Digital Content at ESPN. Before that, he was ESPN’s Senior Vice President of Digital Product and Design. In those positions, Spoon oversaw the building, operation, and growth of many of ESPN’s leading sports websites, including ESPN.com, the ESPN app, ESPN Fantasy Football, and the ESPN Social website.
Before his time at ESPN, Spoon worked at Polaris Venture Partners as a venture capitalist, identifying and leveraging trends in digital markets.
“The opportunities at BetMGM during the early phases of growth were an immediate draw for me,” Spoon said. “With the fabulous asset of MGM Resorts, combined with GVC’s cutting-edge technology, the number of league, team, and other partners, BetMGM is uniquely positioned and I’m excited to help drive future growth.”
Building Domination in the Sports Betting Space
BetMGM has built many key, strategic partnerships including the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, and the PGA TOUR. Moreover, the up and coming sports betting platform has formed team partnerships with the New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Vegas Golden Knights, the Detroit Lions, and more.
BetMGM has also forged other strategic partners with media outlets such as Yahoo! Sports and sports bars like Buffalo Wild Wings.
More importantly, BetMGM’s platform is user-friendly, making it easy to customize pre-game, in-play, futures, and parlay bets. Sports bettors can choose from a broad selection of betting options on nearly every type of sport, including football, baseball, basketball, golf, hockey, tennis soccer, and even combat sports.
Currently, the BetMGM app is available in five states, New Jersey, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, and Nevada. With the rapid expansion of sports betting legislation across the country, BetMGM will launch in additional states; in fact, BetMGM is poised to launch soon in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Iowa, Oregon, and New Mexico.
BetMGM has Serious Growth Potential
UBS financial analyst Robin Farley thinks investors should consider BetMGM, especially in light of its positive momentum building partnerships, as well as the highly esteemed MGM Resorts brand.
Currently, BetMGM is in a handful of markets, but by 2025, that market could include 13 states for online gaming and 38 states for sports betting. The potential market value could exceed $20 billion.
According to Farley, the forecasted $20 billion by 2025 is based on MGM’s internal estimates of 225 million adult sports fans across 38 states accessing sports betting and spending an average of $60 annually on bets. MGM also postulates that 62 million adult gamblers in 13 states will spend $110 annually on online casino games.
Billionaire investor Barry Diller bought up $1 billion in MGM stock; Diller’s companies have a solid reputation for converting offline customers into online customers, and analysts see Diller doing just that with MGM’s 34 million Rewards members.
Overall, the future looks bright for BetMGM, as all forms of online gambling are legalized and regulated across the country.
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