The National Basketball Association is getting in on the sports betting craze and Commissioner Adam Silver is helping to bringing in sports betting to the NBA game.
According to ESPN’s David Purdam, a new virtual sports betting game, called ‘NBA Last 90’, which will feature NBA highlights and footage is set to debut in the United States and European markets.
“NBA Last 90” will drop contestants into the final 90 seconds of a simulated matchup between two NBA teams and offer wagering propositions on what transpires during the ending of a fictitious game.
NBA partner Highlight Games Limited, a specialist games supplier, stiches together highlights from recent seasons to tell a story of what plays out during the 90 seconds. Contestants will be able to wager on several outcomes, including which team will win, who will score on the first possession and the total points scored by both teams. A random number generator, similar to what’s used in slot machines, will determine the outcomes.”
“We’ve been looking at this the past couple years and were really surprised to see how popular this was,” NBA head of fantasy and gaming Scott Kaufman-Ross said.
“In Europe, we’re especially excited about using virtual as another way to engage with our fans with alternative content, especially given the time-zone challenges we have in the region.”
“We are extremely excited about this partnership and the potential future opportunities for our players in the virtual gaming space,” Josh Goodstadt, executive vice president of licensing for THINK450, the commercial arm of the NBPA, said in an official press release to announce the game.
“We look forward to working with the NBA and Highlight Games to create a unique gaming experience that will help to grow the popularity of the players and the league worldwide.”
The NBA continues to spearhead innovation within the North American sports landscape, and this new game is another example of their forward-thinking approach that seems lost on the other major sports leagues such as the NFL.
“Highlight Games has an ambitious strategy to enter the nascent US sports betting and virtual sports market, and this collaboration is the first important step on that journey,” Highlight Games CEO Tim Green said in the release. “NBA Last 90 features real NBA stars and real NBA highlights, differentiating it from any other virtual sports product on the market. We’re confident that players around the world will be instantly engaged with NBA Last 90.”