Sacramento Kings Enter Partnership With MGM Resorts

American global hospitality and entertainment company from Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International and software company, Xperiel, have formed a partnership with a professional basketball team from California, Sacramento Kings.

Both companies will provide new incentives to fans thanks to the inventor’s Real World Web platform that increases the engagement with free-to-play gaming experience. Sports enthusiasts will be able to enhance their involvement via “Call the Shot” online app that is available within the Fan Zone at Golden 1 Center.

The app allows fans to interact with their preferred team like never before, including the possibility to predict match outcomes, player performance and more. Thanks to this partnership, the league will feature its first mobile offering with “high frequency predictive gaming.”

Redefining Fan Experience

Vivek Ranadive, Kings owner and chairman, said that the team is looking forward to implementing new ways of engaging with fans as well as how they interact during the match. Ranadive adds:

“The future is experiential and we are proud to lead the way in continuing to redefine the fan experience with this innovative and interactive platform.”

President of interactive gaming at MGM, Scott Butera, replied:

“We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with the Kings to become their exclusive presenting partner for the Call the Shot game. MGM Resorts looks forward to this unique opportunity to innovate free-to-play gaming and provide fans with a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience.”

Vegas Gaming Feel

As previously mentioned, using the app “Call the Shot” will enable all fans to make real-time predictions but this refers to multiple categories including shooting percentage, top scoring players, highest rebounds rate etc. Moreover, enthusiasts will be allowed to make predictions before the game, as well as during each quarter.

Alex Hertel, Xperiel CEO and co-founder, provides more details about the agreement with Kings:

“When we first started working with the Kings a few years ago, Vivek Ranadivé had the vision that any predictive gaming experience we create together should have a Vegas-like gaming feel without the actual wagering.

It is thrilling to see what we’ve built under Vivek’s guidance and look forward to continuing to work with the Kings and other NBA teams to create immersive digital fan experiences and drive sports technology innovation with our Real World Web platform.”

To repeat, MGM Resorts International entered into agreement with NBA in July 2018, and signed a multiyear partnership as the league’s official gaming sponsor. The company will provide Vegas-like experience through gamified apps and creates an exciting relationship with sports, specifically through personal devices.

Xperiel also collaborates with Amazon to distribute seasonal grand prizes such as NBA 2K18 for Microsoft’s Xbox console.

Source:

“Kings Partner with MGM Resorts and Xperiel to Upgrade “Call the Shot” Free-to-Play Gaming Experience to Fans”, nba.com, February 5, 2019.