Would you like a side of Giants over Cowboys for the upset with your wings? In what might be a trend setting agreement, on Thursday the iconic chain restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings announced that they are going into business with MGM Properties.
It’s a multi-year deal that will allow patrons to bet on games in Wild Wings restaurants where sports betting is legal.
Truth be told, in states where mobile betting is legal, anyone can already download the MGM app and place their bets.
What’s different about this agreement is that customers will be encouraged to install the BetMGM app while they are dining in the restaurant. And those who do will be rewarded with things like free bets and better odds for doing so.
Buffalo Wild Wings is also partnering up with MGM to create a free-to-play game that will be available to patrons across the country, even in places where betting is not yet legal. You can access the game in the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazing Rewards app and it will be run by the digital division of MGM, BetMGM.
The game is called Pick and Props and it is already available as of Thursday. Winners will need to claim their prizes at a Buffalo Wild Wings between Thursday and Sunday. The contests will include making prop picks and game picks against the spread.
Some of those prizes include free trips to betting meccas such as Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Buffalo Wild Wings will also display spreads and odds on screens at any restaurant in states where betting is legal.
MGM also has plans to open at least three Wild Wings restaurants in MGM properties starting with Mandalay Bay by next year.
There are currently more than 1,000 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants spread across the country, so there will be plenty of opportunities for wings and betting fans to give this new form of entertainment a try.
In announcing the agreement, Roar Digital CEO Adam Greenblatt shared a vision saying, “”The traditional sportsbook has been reinvented. The sportsbook is now in your pocket on your mobile phone. It’s more powerful for us because we own our own technology and create an end-to-end product, which means we can easily offer better value and customize an experience.”
Roar Digital is the joint venture company started by MGM and GVC to help make mobile betting more accessible for gamblers.
One of the main reasons for their free to play game is that it will help MGM create a national database of future paying customers as more and more states start to legalize sports betting.