NEW JERSEY, July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ROAR Digital, LLC
("ROAR" or the "Company") – the US sports betting and online gaming
company operating as BetMGM and owned jointly by MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) ("MGM Resorts") and GVC Holdings (LSE:
GVC) ("GVC") – announced today that its shareholders have committed
to a second round of investment, bringing the total to $450 million. This increase follows MGM Resorts'
and GVC's total initial commitment of $200
million and underpins their commitment to BetMGM becoming a
leading player in the rapidly growing US sports betting and iGaming
markets. These two rounds of investment provide the Company with
over $370 million of investable
capital at present.
Since its launch in 2018, the Company has made significant
progress and is on track to operate in 11 states by the end of
2020. In addition to the financial strength of both its
shareholders, the Company benefits from MGM Resorts' leading brand,
iconic physical properties, and loyal customer base, along with
GVC's proprietary, globally-proven technology.
"We launched this business to combine the best of MGM Resorts
and GVC, and establish BetMGM as a leading brand in the US sports
betting and iGaming markets," said Adam
Greenblatt, CEO of ROAR Digital, LLC. "With broad
market access secured, our long-term technology foundations now
firmly established, and a high performing team in place, this
further unequivocal support from our two shareholders will ensure
we can achieve leading market positions in this exciting industry
that is growing even faster than our initial expectations."
Greenblatt concluded, "BetMGM is on track to generate over
$130 million of net revenues this
year predominantly from iGaming in New
Jersey given the impact of COVID-19. With the return of
sports and our growing operations across the US, we anticipate
rapid growth in the coming year."
The Company's success will be built on its four core strategic
tenets, each of which provide distinct competitive advantages:
1. Market access:
The Company has already secured market access to 19
states1 which together reach approximately 50% of the US
population. It has active operations in seven states with four more
expected to launch by year end 2020.
With a best-in-class web, mobile, and desktop sportsbook
platform as well as supporting MGM Resorts' brick and mortar
sportsbook destinations, BetMGM's exclusive betting engine allows
sports fans to place bets quickly, safely and easily in every
channel. This superior experience, together with the Company's
demonstrated strength in player onboarding and management as well
as GVC's global sportsbook expertise, places BetMGM in a very
strong position to achieve a leading share in the US sports betting
market, estimated to achieve revenues of approximately $8.5 billion2 by 2025.
In iGaming, the Company has already achieved a leading market
position in New Jersey with
approximately 18% market share3 and gross gaming revenue
growth of 210% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the prior
year quarter. The US iGaming market is estimated to achieve
revenues of approximately $6.9
billion2 by 2025, and the Company believes that
it can replicate this leading market position in other
jurisdictions, as additional states legalize iGaming in the
future.
2. Customer reach:
The Company is uniquely positioned to access a wide range of
customers through its partners, affiliates and its omni-channel
approach.
MGM Resorts has an established portfolio of market-leading
properties across the US, giving BetMGM access to market to
millions of engaged and brand loyal customers. M life Rewards, MGM
Resorts' loyalty program, has over 34 million members, of which
approximately 18% are located in states planned to be live on the
BetMGM platform by the end of 2020.
The Company is integrating M life Rewards in support of an
omni-channel strategy such that BetMGM customers will become M life
Members to earn and enjoy Tier status, recognition and rewards
based on their sports and iGaming wagers. Likewise, existing M life
Rewards members will now have a new way to earn Tier Credits and
status based on sports and iGaming wagers placed with BetMGM. This
integration is expected to drive new customer acquisition,
omni-channel activity, as well as ongoing customer loyalty and
engagement for BetMGM.
In addition, the Company has exclusive partnerships with Yahoo
Sports and Buffalo Wild Wings. Upon the imminent return of sports,
the Company is looking forward to launching BetMGM to Yahoo's 64
million monthly active users, including one of the largest fantasy
sports player bases in the US.
3. Product and technology:
BetMGM has exclusive access to GVC's proven, highly flexible,
and highly scalable in-house technology platform, which gives it
world-class infrastructure, tools and content in both iGaming and
sports betting.
Access to proprietary and vertically integrated technology is a
key strategic advantage in delivering a leading sports and gaming
proposition to customers. Core benefits include speed of
development, reducing time to market on innovative new features,
platform stability and flexibility, and ease of use. The
technology platform has been fully optimized ahead of the return of
US sports, with the Company enjoying support from a team of over
2,000 IT specialists, including a dedicated team servicing the
BetMGM product.
The Company also benefits from the maturity and rich features of
GVC's sports product, including an immersive in-play betting
experience across an exhaustive range of sports as well as a range
of industry leading bet management features such as Bet Rewards,
Odds Boosts, Build-A-Bet, Edit-My-Bet and Auto Cash Out features.
Combined with state-of-the-art engagement capabilities,
best-in-class frictionless customer experience, as well as powerful
omni-channel journeys and cross sell capabilities this gives BetMGM
significant technological and experiential advantages. Internally
developed, exclusive iGaming content has been key to BetMGM's
success in New Jersey. The current
strength of product and technology, combined with the pace of
improvement and innovation, strongly supports the Company's
leadership ambitions.
4. People:
In addition to being able to draw on the outstanding talent
within both MGM Resorts and GVC, the Company has built an
industry-leading team across a range of functions, including
marketing, technology, product development, and customer engagement
and retention.
The team has been hand-picked and combines deep industry
experience from around the globe with US specialists in areas where
local expertise is vital such as VIP, product UI/UX and customer
research.
The US-based trading leadership team has a track-record of
building trading operations and winning market share from incumbent
players in the sports betting market. The approach and techniques
further support the Company's growth agenda.
"Sports betting and iGaming are fundamental to what MGM Resorts
does best," said Bill Hornbuckle,
Acting CEO & President of MGM Resorts. "Our investment in
ROAR is a demonstration of our continued excitement about the
unique benefit of offering unforgettable, premier entertainment
experiences to millions of our loyal guests directly through
BetMGM. We believe this competitive advantage places BetMGM at the
forefront of the most dynamic growth opportunity in all of US
gaming and will ultimately deliver meaningful long-term value for
our shareholders."
"These are exciting times for BetMGM, as it continues to expand
its iGaming business while also offering customers an outstanding
sports betting experience as live sports returns to the US," said
Kenny Alexander, CEO of GVC.
"We see enormous potential for the US market and are delighted to
have such a strong foothold in it through our partnership with MGM
Resorts. Our stake in BetMGM is, by some distance, the most
important and exciting investment that GVC has ever made. We are
absolutely committed to ensuring that the Company has the funding
and technical resources needed to achieve long-term market
leadership, whilst delivering significant value for
shareholders."
GVC will hold a call for analysts and investors at 5:00pm (BST) / 12:00pm
(ET) today. Dial in details are:
UK: +44 (0) 33 0606 1122, US: +1 646 585 9192
Company name: GVC Holdings PLC, Room number: 862448, PIN: 4058
For more information on BetMGM, follow @BetMGM on
Twitter.
- Market access includes states where certain legislative
modifications are required and states in which the Company is
seeking direct licensure
- Market size estimates are based on Morgan Stanley research as
of June 2020
- Implied market share based on June
2020 E&K report using March – May
2020 revenues
ABOUT BETMGM
BetMGM is the sports betting and gaming
platform of ROAR Digital LLC, jointly owned by 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, ROAR Digital 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 (LSE: GVC) is
a FTSE100 company and 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; Gaming 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 is tax resident in the UK with licenses
in more than 20 countries, across five continents. For more
information see the Group's website: www.gvc-plc.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
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 ROAR's ability to grow in new or
existing jurisdictions and execute on its business plan, the
expected growth in the i-gaming and sports markets, the timing of a
return of sports in the US, expected 2020 financial results,
changes in applicable laws or regulations (particularly related to
gaming), the ability of ROAR's owners to fund any committed capital
and the general economic and market conditions in the markets in
which ROAR operates. Management has based forward-looking
statements on current expectations and assumptions and not on
historical facts. In providing forward-looking statements, ROAR 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 ROAR 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.
LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28
CONTACTS
ROAR Digital
Elisa
Richardson
media@betmgm.com
GVC Holdings PLC
David
Lloyd-Seed
Director of Investor Relations & External
Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 203 938
0000
investors@gvc-plc.com
MGM Resorts International
Investor
Relations
Catherine
Park
cpark@mgmresorts.com
News Media
Marc
Jacobson
media@mgmresorts.com
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International