Sinclair Broadcasting expects to take sports betting to a new level next summer should Minnesota legalize the wagers. Here’s an example involving the Minnesota Twins, televised on Fox Sports North, owned by Sinclair.
Twins play-by-play guy Dick Bremer asks viewers if the closer will succeed. “If you’d like to place a bet on it, just go to your Bally’s Sports app and click on ‘in-game wagers.'”
To accommodate the approach, Fox Sports North will be rebranded to Bally’s Sports, perhaps by opening day on April 1. But bringing gambling to broadcasts goes beyond baseball, to the Timberwolves, Wild and Minnesota United FC games. The rebrand follows the $86 million deal in November with Bally’s Corp. as a way to enhance the relationship between sports and betting, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Betting on games “creates more engagement, and that’s what drives value for teams,” Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s CEO, said. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Sinclair said that its regional networks, hurt by the pandemic, lost $4 billion in worth after the Fox purchase. So finding new eyeballs is a must.
Research indicated 63 percent of 25 to 34 viewers acknowledge an interest in sports betting; 46 percent bet on games at least once a month; and more important, people who bet on games are 24 percent more likely to watch the games.
“The overall vision, of which this is a keystone, is to ‘gamify’ sports, to make watching sports like playing a video game,” Ripley said. “We think this will dramatically increase the attractiveness, especially for a younger generation.”
Part of the equation is to make betting available on mobile devices. To that end, Bally’s paid $100 million to purchase Bet.Works, which develops gambling software for a mobile app that can connect to Sinclair’s streamed broadcasts.
Bills have been filed in the Minnesota legislature to legalize sports gambling in each of the past two years, but faced enormous opposition from tribal casino owners. But Fox Sports North reaches into northern Iowa and Deadwood, South Dakota, both not far for Minnesota residents.
