JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BetMGM, the sports
betting joint venture between MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM)
and GVC Holdings (LSE: GVC), today announced the appointment of
Ryan Spoon as Chief Operating
Officer.
Most recently, Spoon served as Senior Vice President of Social
& Digital Content at ESPN. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice
President of Digital Product and Design. In those capacities, Spoon
helped build, operate and grow many of the leading digital
properties in sports including ESPN.com; the ESPN App; ESPN
Fantasy, including ESPN Fantasy Football; and ESPN Social. ESPN'S
digital properties are the world's leading and most successful
online sports service, boasting the number one sports website and
app, as well as number one sports media publisher in social
engagement across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Spoon is a
two-time Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 winner. Before
joining ESPN, Spoon spent time as a venture capitalist at Polaris
Venture Partners where he proved to have innate skills in
identifying and leveraging trends in the digital space.
Spoon will report to BetMGM's CEO Adam
Greenblatt, who said, "BetMGM has seen early success in
establishing itself as a significant player in the sports betting
world through relationships with leagues, teams and partners. With
Ryan's expertise in developing scaled and engaging digital
experiences, BetMGM will leverage those relationships in entirely
new ways."
BetMGM's industry-leading platform provides a user-friendly
sports betting experience, making it simple to customize pre-game,
live in-play, futures and parlay bets. Sports bettors can select
from a wide assortment of betting options including football,
basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, tennis and combat
sports. The app is currently live in six states with the goal of
rapid expansion as state legislation allows.
BetMGM's league partnerships include the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, PGA
TOUR and NASCAR. Team partners include the Denver Broncos, New York
Jets, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Vegas
Golden Knights, and more. Strategic partners include Yahoo! Sports
and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Spoon said, "The opportunity at BetMGM during these early phases
was an immediate draw for me. With the incredible assets of MGM
Resorts, GVC's industry-leading technology, and the many league,
team and platform partners, BetMGM is uniquely positioned in the
market and I am excited to help drive future growth."
Spoon will be based in the BetMGM headquarters in New Jersey and is scheduled to start in his
new role in November.
ABOUT BETMGM
BetMGM is a market leading sports betting and gaming platform by
BetMGM LLC, the joint venture between MGM Resorts International
(NYSE: MGM) and GVC Holdings Plc (LSE: GVC). Based in New Jersey, the company 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, BetMGM offers
sports betting and online gaming via market leading brands
including BetMGM and partypoker. The company has exclusive access
to MGM's U.S. land-based and online sports betting, major
tournament poker, and online gaming businesses. For more
information visit www.roardigital.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 in the United States and
Macau, including some of the most
recognizable resort brands in the industry such as Bellagio, MGM
Grand, ARIA and Park MGM. The Company's 50/50 venture, BetMGM, LLC,
offers U.S. sports betting and online gaming through market-leading
brands, including BetMGM and partypoker. The Company is currently
pursuing targeted expansion in Asia through the integrated resort opportunity
in Japan. Through its "Focused on
What Matters: Embracing Humanity and Protecting the Planet"
initiative, MGM Resorts commits to creating a more sustainable
future, while striving to make a bigger difference in the lives of
its employees, guests, and in the communities where it operates.
The 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, please visit us at
www.mgmresorts.com. Please also connect with us @MGMResortsIntl on
Twitter as well as Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT GVC HOLDINGS PLC
GVC Holdings PLC is one of the world's largest sports-betting
and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector.
The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands;
Sports Brands include bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes,
Neds and Sportingbet; Games Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo,
Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns
proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and
in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of
third-party customers on a B2B basis. The Group has also entered
into a joint-venture with MGM Resorts to capitalise on the
sports-betting and gaming opportunity in the US. The Group,
incorporated in the Isle of Man, is a constituent of the FTSE 250
index and has licenses in more than 20 countries, across five
continents. For more information see the Group's website:
www.gvc-plc.com
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 BetMGM's ability
to grow in new or existing jurisdictions. Management has based
forward-looking statements on current expectations and assumptions
and not on historical facts. Among the important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in
such forward-looking statements include the effects of economic and
market conditions in the jurisdictions in which BetMGM operates,
competition with other iGaming and sports betting platforms, the
timing and costs of expanding in new jurisdictions as well as
obtaining and maintaining the required permits, licenses,
financings, approvals and other contingencies in connection with
growth in new or existing jurisdictions. In providing
forward-looking statements, BetMGM 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 BetMGM 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.
Media Contact:
Elisa Richardson
Head of Communications
press@betmgm.com
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/betmgm-introduces-espn-veteran-ryan-spoon-as-chief-operating-officer-301160545.html
SOURCE MGM Resorts International