Major League Baseball is raising concerns that a new policy governing the collection and sharing of team lineups and umpire assignments could favor betting entities that have secured data partnerships with the league.
“We are updating a number of our procedures to reduce integrity risks associated with the expansion of sports betting in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling last May,” the organization said in a statement. “One new procedure is that we now ask clubs to submit starting lineups in a uniform fashion in order to reduce the risk of confidential information being ‘tipped.’ This approach mirrors those of international sports leagues in more developed betting markets.”
How this may actually play out is another matter, according to analysts like Peter Gammons, a respected longtime baseball commentator who suspects it will give a leg up to gambling entities𑁋specifically MGM Resorts International and betting data provider Sportradar𑁋whose MLB partnerships provide for direct feeds of official data independent of traditional media sources.
MGM is MLB’s official gaming and entertainment partner with access to the league’s official data feed through a deal Sportradar also has struck with the league.
As Gammons wrote, “MLB insists the lineups will be published to everyone —the media and gaming entities alike—at the same time. But what does this mean?”
What it means procedurally is teams must now submit their lineup cards directly to the league, before publishing it anywhere else. They are then free to publish the information anyway they choose, which historically has been through the media.
What this means in practice is that in addition to team officials, those with access to the feed—MGM and other sportsbook clients, as well as media members who work alongside a team’s PR staff—will be the first to know lineups and umpire assignments. MGM and other sportsbooks that contract with Sportradar may then adjust their betting lines and prices accordingly.
As Gammons noted, “The public will be dependent upon media member(s) to get the information out. So that doesn’t change for the public. But Sportradar clients, i.e. oddsmakers, will never be at the mercy of another individual to relate the information. And from what I have gathered, bettors will not be able to purchase the feed. So that provides a clear advantage to Sportradar partners, such as MGM, which appears to be the point of this whole change.”
He added, “Sure, this new policy standardizes things, but will lineup information be any less susceptible to being compromised now as a result of the change? It only creates a different universe of people with access.”
MGM, meanwhile, has extended its reach into Major League Baseball with a deal with the Boston Red Sox that designates the casino giant as the team’s official and exclusive resort sponsor.
The agreement is the first of its kind for MGM, which opened a casino in Springfield, Mass., last August. The Las Vegas-based company also secured a sponsorship deal with the New York Jets of the National Football League after its purchase of a casino and racetrack in Yonkers, N.Y.
The deal with the Red Sox does not include a betting component. What it does provide is signage around the team’s historic Fenway Park, including behind home plate, and it will place the MGM Resorts logo on the park’s famous 37-foot-high left-field wall, affectionately known as the “Green Monster”.
MGM also will partner with the team on VIP fan experiences during games and will host the team’s annual Baseball Winter Weekend event at MGM Springfield. The event includes a town hall-style meeting with Red Sox officials, autographs and photos with players and roundtable discussions on a variety of baseball topics.
“MGM has set the standard in the hospitality and entertainment industry and their recent expansion into the Commonwealth makes them a clear partner,” said Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy.
MGM Chairman and CEO James Murren said the partnership “will create a new one-of-a-kind fan experience for baseball fans unique to not only New England and MGM Springfield, but the rest of the country.”
