MGM to acquire AAF betting technology IP
Operator will pay $125,000 for tech’s intellectual property, two months after the AAF files for bankruptcy
MGM will acquire the Alliance of American Football’s betting technology two months after the AAF filed for bankruptcy.
According to The Athletic, MGM will purchase the IP behind the app for $125,000 with a total claim for the tech of $5m.
The purchase price is lower than previously offered by MGM, with the casino firm arguing the tech will lose its value if the IP is not developed.
The operator had an exclusive licence for the gambling data from the league before it went bust.
The AAF spent more than $40 million developing an in-game sports betting app. MGM has just scooped it up for a mere $125K, pending bankruptcy court approval. https://t.co/oIkCizfwuT
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) June 26, 2019
At the time, the tech was hailed for being able to process data in real-time and was primed to be a go-to for in-play betting.
The AAF was described by some as a tech company with a football league thanks to its focus and investment in developing the betting app.
The league planned to beam data from tracking chips on players to the app to allow customers to bet on a play-by-play basis.
“It’s not fully functional, but it’s almost there,” said Scott Butera, president of interactive gaming at MGM, earlier this year.
“What it will do, which is very important to us from a sports betting standpoint, is it will allow almost immediate transmission of data and what’s going on in an event to your mobile device, which will allow us to have play-by-play gambling, which is non-existent today.”
However, the league went bankrupt before it could bring the product to market.