ATLANTA, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Buffalo Wild
Wings is joining forces with MGM Resorts International and its
sports betting venture, Roar Digital, for a multi-year partnership
– a first-of-its-kind alignment between a national sports bar and a
gaming leader. In accordance with applicable regulatory
requirements, the partnership will deliver sports gaming
experiences at a national scale inside Buffalo Wild Wings through
MGM's digital gaming platform, BetMGM. In addition, the deal is
expected to spawn collaborations inside MGM properties and sports
books, including a new Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar slated to open
at Mandalay Bay in 2020. Roar Digital is the 50/50 venture
established in July 2018 between MGM
Resorts International and GVC Holdings.
While the strategic alignment between these industry leaders is
focused on capitalizing on future opportunities as states continue
to pass sports betting legislation, consumers will begin to
experience BetMGM at Buffalo Wild Wings as early as this
week. The partnership kicks off today with a free-to-play
football game available nationwide. Plans also include a sports
betting test program in New Jersey
later this year with the goal of expanding to additional states as
legislation is passed.
"Our partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings is an important
development in MGM and Roar's position as the leader in sports
entertainment and betting," said MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO
Jim Murren. "With more than 1,200
sports bars across the country, Buffalo Wild Wings is firmly
established as a 'go-to' venue for sports viewing in all of its
markets. Adding access to MGM's world-class properties and the
BetMGM mobile app will create unique customer experiences and
redefine how fans enjoy sports."
"As the largest sports bar in the country, Buffalo Wild Wings
has the opportunity to pioneer sports gaming experiences for fans,
and we are taking the first critical step on that journey through
our partnership with BetMGM," said Lyle
Tick, President, Buffalo Wild Wings. "This is a landmark
relationship between two preeminent experience brands that puts us
in a position to innovate the current sports watching experience to
bring the best of sports gaming to our guests."
In-Restaurant Gaming: Nationwide Free-to-Play Game via BetMGM
and New Jersey Sports Betting Tests
The first
consumer-facing product to come from this partnership is Picks
and Props, a free-to-play, mobile-only football game available
nationwide starting today when the pro football season kicks off.
The game offers a seamless sports betting-like experience with no
stakes attached. Players have the opportunity to win prizes like
trips to Las Vegas to place a
parlay bet for the Big Game that could pay out at $1 million or to Borgata in New Jersey to compete in the first BetMGM
sports betting competition. To play Picks and Props, simply
download the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin' Rewards app, then make game
picks based on the spread, answer prop questions and choose top
fantasy performers for the week. While fans can play anywhere, they
must check in at a Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar between Thursday
and Sunday to be eligible for prizes.
Buffalo Wild Wings and BetMGM also will collaborate on a sports
betting test program in New Jersey
later this year. The program will give consumers exclusive perks,
such as enhanced odds and free bets, when the BetMGM app is
accessed inside Buffalo Wild Wings. Buffalo Wild Wings and BetMGM
aim to expand the program to additional states as legislation
allows.
Future Experiences
Buffalo Wild Wings and BetMGM will
deliver a variety of additional consumer-facing initiatives as the
partnership develops over time, including:
- Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars across the country will begin
showcasing custom sports book content on TV screens inside the
sports bars, featuring live odds provided by BetMGM.
- At least three new Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars are
expected to open within MGM properties or in partnership with
BetMGM as additional states come online – the first is expected
to open in mid-2020 inside Mandalay Bay, which is adjacent to the
site of the new Las Vegas pro
football stadium.
Adam Greenblatt, CEO, Roar
Digital, said, "Buffalo Wild Wings is a perfect complement to our
best-in-class sports betting and igaming products as they are
leaders in serving up exciting and innovative game day experiences.
This multi-year relationship will strengthen as states adopt sports
betting regulations, with strategies already in place to drive
customer adoption, engagement and loyalty."
The partnership will be supported by co-marketing initiatives
from Buffalo Wild Wings and BetMGM including joint efforts across
digital and social media platforms.
Buffalo Wild Wings and BetMGM will work together to encourage
responsible gaming practices in restaurant and via the BetMGM
mobile app. For information on MGM Resorts' innovative responsible
gambling program, visit www.mgmresorts.com/gamesense.
About Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings, founded
in 1982, is the largest sports bar brand in the United States. Globally, there are more
than 1,200 restaurants in 10 countries. Buffalo Wild Wings is part
of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. For more information,
visit BuffaloWildWings.com and InspireBrands.com.
About Inspire Brands
Inspire Brands is a multi-brand restaurant company
whose current portfolio includes more than 8,400 Arby's,
Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, and Rusty Taco locations
worldwide. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in
Atlanta, Ga. For more information,
visit InspireBrands.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
30 unique hotel and destination gaming offerings including some of
the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding
throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company recently
acquired the operations of Empire City Casino in New York and Hard Rock Rocksino in
Ohio, which was rebranded as MGM
Northfield Park. In 2018, MGM Resorts opened MGM Springfield in
Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in
Macau, and the first
Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 82,000 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 visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.
About Roar Digital
Roar Digital LLC is the US sports
betting and online gaming venture, owned by MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) and GVC Holdings Plc (LSE: GVC).
Based in New Jersey, the venture 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, Roar Digital offers sports betting and online
gaming via market leading brands including playMGM and partypoker.
The venture will have exclusive access to MGM's U.S. land-based and
online sports betting, major tournament poker, and online gaming
businesses.
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 those described
in MGM's public filings with the SEC. MGM has based
forward-looking statements on management's current expectations and
assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these
statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
the opening of new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants and
the expected benefits to be achieved as a result of the
partnership. Among the important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements include effects of economic conditions
and market conditions in the markets in which MGM operates and
competition with other destination travel locations
throughout the United States and the world, the design,
timing and costs of expansion projects, risks relating to
international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals
and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or
existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties
described in MGM's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports
(including all amendments to those reports). In providing
forward-looking statements, MGM 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 MGM 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 Contacts
Alison
Glenn – Buffalo Wild Wings
bwwpublicrelations@inspirebrands.com
Marc Jacobson – MGM Resorts
International
media@mgmresorts.com /702-692-6801
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International