Yahoo’s deal with BetMGM is structured similarly to other betting affiliate deals, with Yahoo and parent Verizon collecting revenue based on how many active bettors it drives to the sportsbook. But this one is on steroids, amplified by Yahoo Sports' monthly reach of 70 million, which extends well beyond avowed self-identified sports bettors.
“A lot of these (sportsbook/media) deals are basically ad deals dressed up as strategic betting deals, where the primary interest from the media entity was to insure a large number of committed ad dollars flowing through, because they’re really good at booking large numbers of ad dollars,” Reiss said. “One of the things that drew us very close to BetMGM was the ability to create a deal where our interests in this industry were going to be very closely aligned. We weren’t just going to be just this engine that pumped folks over there. We were going to work very closely with these guys to not just identify very qualified bettors, but then to make sure that we regularly re-engage these folks and make sure the value of those customers were among best in class."
The most valuable of Yahoo’s denizens is the fantasy player, which it has in spades at all levels, from dalliers to daily bingers.
Reiss pointed to three components that have helped Yahoo drive those users to BetMGM: Promo offers that are essential in an emerging market, such as the $100 in free bets new users can win on the coin toss Sunday; engaging content that attracts interest and then makes it easy for users to click through to BetMGM; and extensions that bring users from other Yahoo and Verizon digital platforms.
“There’s not a single magic bullet here,” Reiss said. “For a fan interested in sports betting, looking at sports through a lens (that embraces that) is fundamental to creating the environment that drives conversion.”
