MMA And Sports Betting: A Match Made In Heaven — And Las Vegas

At UFC 235 last weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, veteran welterweight fighter Robbie Lawler nearly pounded former Olympic wrestler and 2/1 favourite Ben Askren to a first-round TKO success. However Askren, making his first UFC look, managed to endure Lawler’s early onslaught of body and head shots, and about two minutes after, at 3:20 in the initial round, finished the comeback, ending it with a bulldog choke.
Respected referee Herb Dean watched Lawler’s arm dangle limp while he attempted to extricate himself in the choke, causing Dean to halt the fight in what goes down as a submission win for Askren. While contentious and unfortunate for Lawler (and his backers), it was clear, and the popular Lawler quickly turned from aggrieved to praising Dean and expressing his own comprehension (transcript here.)
The NFL is the king of U.S sports gambling, but combined martial arts provides something different, in some ways better and more exciting, and really controversial at times, like each sport. Certain occasions, even for a marginally market game now in its very first year of a supply deal on ESPN platforms, can generate the gambling handle seen in a good NFL game.
“Everyone understands a fight”
Exposure to more mainstream audiences through ESPN and FOX Sports 1, via an earlier deal, continues to raise MMA’s profile. To get to this this point, UFC and other promotions like Bellator have long embraced and understood the engagement value of sports betting.
“The UFC was on the forefront of sport wagering content,” Jason Simbal, vice president of risk management for CG Technology, informed Sports Manage. “They embraced it by adding chances on the websites on telecasts. And the announcers will mention the betting favorites during the conflicts. Also they have their personal produced betting show that airs before every pay-per-view on UFC Fight Pass, which assists.”
The PGA Tour, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and National Hockey League likewise have”evolved” since the Supreme Court struck down the 1992 national ban on full scale sports wagering outside Nevada. Each of the commissioners of these leagues now tout the virtues of greater involvement anyhow sports wagering, fabricate new monetization opportunities, and enjoy those that have come.
However, while every one of those leagues, particularly MLB, attempt to build new sports gambling bridges using proprietary Statcast characters, as an instance, there’s no learning curve to begin gambling on mixed martial arts.
“I think it comes right down to it turned into a fight. And what I mean by that is that if you are managing a lot of other sports, you are dealing with a lot of variables, the nuances of soccer, baseball, basketball,” veteran MMA writer-reporter Damon Martin told Sports Manage. “And there is a guttural instinct in everybody when it comes down to it.