Mercury Ink First-Ever Betting Deal In Women’s Sports

The Phoenix Mercury haven’t won a ring since 2014, but the team is still putting up numbers — and we’re not talking about Diana Taurasi reaching 9,000 career points earlier this week. 

Bally’s Corporation announced a 15-year deal worth a reported $66 million with the Mercury on Wednesday, making history in women’s sports just months after going into business with the NBA.

• It’s the first-ever sports betting deal with a professional women’s sports team.
• It is the largest sponsorship in women’s sports history, according to the team.
• The deal makes Arizona the 15th state Bally’s has entered for sports betting.

“This is a good business decision that also happens to be trailblazing and more inclusive,” Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corporation’s Board of Directors, told Deadline.

As for revenue opportunities, the sports betting market reached $1 billion in revenue last year. Should sports betting become legal in all 50 states, Forbes expects revenues to exceed $19 billion per year.

The Mercury will have to obtain a mobile sports betting license before the deal is official, but language referenced in Arizona’s sports betting legislation doesn’t present any obstacles.