Elon Musk’s X has partnered with popular sports betting site BetMGM to further diversify his site’s revenue streams.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced the partnership in a Friday statement, saying that its users will soon be able to easily bet on their favorite sports teams through X.
“Sports never sleep on X and now with our strategic partnership with BetMGM, fans are practically in the front row,” she wrote on X. “We’re bringing sports fans on X even closer to the action so they can cheer, and now bet, on their favorite teams.”
Once the deal becomes active, users will be able to browse the betting odds of professional football, with more sports to be added later. However, users will not be able to put their money down directly through X and will have to navigate to BetMGM’s website to do so.
Sports never sleep on @X. And now with @BetMGM, we’ll bring fans on X even closer to the action to cheer and now bet on their favorite teams!! Let’s do this! pic.twitter.com/MFrzhKLE78
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) February 9, 2024
But both parties said they expect the integration to evolve, implying that users would soon be able to bet directly from X.
The deal comes as X continues to try and diversify where its money comes from.
The site that used to rely heavily on advertising dollars has been forced to pivot after many advertisers recoiled at Mr. Musk’s controversial business decisions and comments.
But, according to Mr. Musk, this has always been the plan. Since taking over the company in late 2022, Mr. Musk has been trying to turn X into an “everything app” where users can shop, browse social media posts and manage their finances.
While the transition has been rocky, it hasn’t been without its successes. Mr. Musk has convinced several high-profile figures to publish video content on X exclusively, including political commentators Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon.
X shot back up to the top of Apple’s App Store this week after Mr. Carlson published his much-anticipated interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The addition of sports betting to X could attract, and maintain, sports fans who already use X as a platform to discuss sports. The deal did not discuss any financial specifics surrounding how much revenue X can expect from the deal.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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