The NBA has announced it will debut a new virtual sports betting game, NBA Last 90, in time for the 2019-20 hoops season.
League partner Highlight Games Ltd. will use highlights from recent seasons to create the simulated games, in which players can 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 that used in slot machines will determine the outcomes.
The interest in virtual betting in Europe caught the attention of the NBA, said Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of fantasy and gaming.
“We’ve been looking at this the past couple years and were really surprised to see how popular this was,” Kaufman-Ross told ESPN. “In Europe we’re especially excited about virtual as another way to engage with our fans with alternative content, especially given the time-zone challenges we have in the region.”
Last 90, which will be available at retail and mobile sportsbooks, demonstrates that the NBA is all in when it comes to sports betting. It’s a welcome trend among professional leagues, which once fought tooth-and-nail to kill the legal sports betting market but now is starting to come around.
