X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is reportedly working with BetMGM to integrate sports betting odds and bet links into its social media platform.
According to a report from Fortune on Friday, both sides have agreed to a partnership for an undisclosed amount that would make BetMGM the first online sportsbook embedded within a major social media platform.
Representatives with BetMGM and Twitter did not respond to LSR’s requests for comment.
Twitter adds gambling text strings
Several hours before the Forbes report, @xUpdatesRadar, which tracks changes in the social media platform’s code, flagged that X/Twitter had added gambling-specific text strings to the website.
A timeline for the changes to take effect is unknown.
“While the specific financial terms of the collaboration could not be learned, the intention is to introduce a feature for X soon that will showcase betting odds and provide a direct link to BetMGM, allowing users to place bets,” the Forbes article says.
How BetMGM could leverage Twitter users
Twitter’s advanced algorithms could enable BetMGM to tailor content directly to individual users while acting as a national marketing channel similar to TV advertising, according to Jordan Bender, a senior equity analyst at Citizens JMP Securities.
“The visibility of BetMGM will be enhanced through X’s 55 million + U.S. monthly active users, a database as large as Caesars, and ~5x the MAUs of the total online gaming industry during the strongest seasonal period,” Bender said in a company note Friday.
ESPN Bet parent entangled with Musk
Several high-profile media companies have pulled advertising on X/Twitter after a Media Matters report found changes by owner Elon Musk aided anti-Semitic rhetoric on the platform. That includes Disney, which owns ESPN, the chief marketing partner of Penn Entertainment’s online sportsbook ESPN Bet.
Musk, in response, publicly called for Disney to fire CEO Bob Iger. Musk took over the social media platform after buying it for $44 billion in October 2022.
BetMGM, the 50-50 joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts, is the third largest online sportsbook in the US by betting handle market share, behind FanDuel and DraftKings.
