Ahead of NFL season, BetMGM unveils new features for sports bettors

The new college football season is here, and one online sports betting operator with deep ties to Las Vegas is rolling out some improvements for sports bettors in Nevada.

BetMGM Sportsbook has unveiled its revamped app ahead of Thursday’s NFL regular season opener between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. The all-new sportsbook product includes the familiar multi-state single wallet, multi-game/multi-bet parlay bet builder, an expanded prop betting menu and a new sign-up bonus that is one of the highest in Nevada.

“We are excited to say we are offering Nevada customers the best experience we have ever offered,” said Cory Nebel, West Coast Regional Marketing Manager for BetMGM. “There is a new BetMGM in town.”

BetMGM is the product of a 50/50 partnership between Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International and Entain plc, a European online gaming operator. The app launched in 2018 after the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which opened the door to single-game sports betting in states outside Nevada.

In August, BetMGM became the first U.S. online sportsbook to allow multi-jurisdictional use, allowing customers to use one account to seamlessly fund their account and place bets anywhere the app is available. BetMGM is available in 29 states.

Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s chief revenue officer, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month that he expects rival companies — such as Caesars Sportsbook — will attempt to replicate the technology. For now, though, BetMGM is standing alone.

“This allows our customers who are traveling from other states to be able to seamlessly use their wallet when they’re in Vegas,” Prevost told LVRJ. “Of course, they still have to go through the on-site registration process and register in Nevada like they always do. But it ties the whole experience together for them as customers. We’ve been working on this for years.”

Through an agreement with MGM Resorts, BetMGM customers can visit any of nine sportsbook locations on the Las Vegas Strip to register. They are located at Bellagio, Aria, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur. The free app can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Nebel said the app’s new features are a result of listening to requests from sports bettors.

For example, BetMGM same-game parlay plus is an extension of a product that most online users are already familiar with. SGP-plus allows customers to combine multiple parlay bets into one larger parlay bet. A three-way parlay bet on the KC/BAL game can be combined with a four-way parlay bet on this weekend’s Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals game.

“Everything we do is with the customer experience in mind,” he said. “In the past, we listened, we heard feedback. Our whole world revolves around what the guest is asking for.”

As for which bets get the most attention, Lamarr Mitchell, chief commercial officer for MGM Resorts and BetMGM, said the home team always attracts the money and attention.

The Raiders have a combined win/win ratio of 6.5 for the 2024-25 season. Maxx Crosby is ranked third in the MGM Sportsbook Defensive Player of the Year rankings.

“It’s always Raiders, Raiders, Raiders,” he said, sitting Thursday morning at BetMGM Sportsbook in Mandalay Bay. “We have a very strong fan base here that supports the Raiders and, as I like to say, they put their money where their mouth is.”

Mitchell said a Raiders victory in Super Bowl 59 is the biggest draw for MGM Sportsbook. The Raiders don’t make a ton of money or have a huge ticket count, he said, but the team’s high odds — currently 66-to-1 — could be a huge draw for betting if the Silver and Black win it all in February.

The NFL’s opening game attracts a lot of sharp money, Mitchell said. The underdog Ravens (+3) are getting the most late action.

In Monday’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets, the West Coast team is the favorite, and on Thursday morning the odds for them to win were around 2-to-1.

David Danzis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow AC_Danzis on X.