Betting in and on Major League Baseball games has always been a touchy subject, and things had not progressed much in recent years. While other leagues were teaming up with sports betting companies to offer league-approved data and information, Major League Baseball held firm in its stance of no gambling is to be done on baseball.
Apparently, things have changed quickly in recent weeks as Major League Baseball has announced that it has partnered with EquiLottery Games to produce a live lottery-style draw that could go live as early as 2020. While this isn’t the same thing as approving or allowing betting on Major League Baseball games, it does show that the league is willing to explore the option of sports betting at least.
Both companies have confirmed the announcement, and the deal is a multi-year agreement that will give EquiLottery Games the right to use official league trademarks as well as all 30 trademarks of each individual team.
Baseball Bucks
The brand new game will be called, “Baseball Bucks,” and it will be the first of its kind that is ever used on North American professional sports. Financial terms were not disclosed during the initial announcement, but it is understood that there is room for growth and new opportunities as a part of this deal.
EquiLottery Games has developed and patented a platform for a live draw of professional games that will be used for this initial partnership. Players will be able to purchase a lottery ticket for a certain amount of money, and that will decide how many games will be on their lottery ticket.
Different results will be dispersed among the tickets for each day, and there will be certain prizes awarded for racking up the most wins or having the correct lottery ticket for a particular day. It is expected that Baseball Bucks will be available for both regular-season and postseason games, but an official announcement will likely come during the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
Baseball Bucks will require no skill at all and will be a game of chance, which takes the betting aspect out of the equation. EquiLottery Games has already launched similar games such as Race Car Cash and WinPlaceShow.
Still Steps To Be Taken
There are some steps that will need to take place before Baseball Bucks is able to hit the market by the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball season. One of the most important hurdles to get over is that each individual state will need to approve both EquiLottery Games and Baseball Bucks before the game is able to be played in each state.
Major League Baseball was looking for a way to increase fan engagement and interest across the country, and do so without getting involved in the growing sports betting industry. There is reason to believe that EquiLottery Games is going to use this first season in Major League Baseball as a test run before attempting to break into the remaining professional sports franchises in the country.