NBC Sports Washington to offer early look at in-game betting in the US

[The Buzz]

The NBC TV affiliate in Washington, D.C. will be giving viewers a glimpse at what in-game sports betting will look like when it produces an alternate NBA game telecast focused on gaming.

This Friday, NBC Sports Washington Plus will carry an "interactive, alternate telecast" of the Wizards-Bucks NBA game — the first of eight similar games it will produce this season. Alongside game action, the screen will provide statistics, odds and point spreads.

From Sports Business Daily:

“We’ve been lucky because sports betting has rolled out in a way that has overlapped with our RSNs,” said David Preschlack, president of NBC Sports Regional Networks. “We’re trying to figure out ways to appeal to casual sports bettors to make the games more interesting. … One of the real differentiators of the RSNs business is being able to try new things in different markets.”

Initially, the betting applications will be rudimentary. A “Predict the Game” sweepstakes will involve simple questions about, for example, how many points a specific player will score in a quarter or how many assists a player will have in a half. Fans can visit NBC Sports Washington’s website to answer the questions for a chance to win $500. Ultimately, these free games are expected to give way to a system in which viewers can make bets directly through the broadcast.

“We wanted to give fans a little taste of what they can expect and maybe explain to them what predictive gaming is,” said Mark Friedman, director of creative services and advanced technology, NBC Sports Washington. “We want to let them know that it’s not this scary thing with a stigma associated with it. It’s fun. You can put $5 on a game and add a little bit of interest.”

The news comes on the heels of the Washington, D.C. City Council voting to legalize sports gambling. Nearby Delaware has already implemented legalized sports betting.

In December, NBC registered several sports betting domains including NBCSportbook.com and NBCSportsSportsbook.com among others, according to domain name industry news publication Domain Name Wire.

“We believe that we can be the hub of sports betting in our region largely on the fact that we have live games and people are betting on those live games,” said Damon Phillips, senior vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Washington. “We need to be at the center of this.”

Read more here: https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...s/Wizards.aspx

[econfox]

NBC looks like it wants to get into the sportsbook business. I just wonder about the conflict of interest. Will the NBA & NBC sports list every injured player? What happens when there is a lot of money on a player going over on points in a game and his coach pulls him late? People yelling fix? I want sports betting to do well in the US but I think if there are two groups who can screw it up.

The pro leagues & the TV networks.