Fresh from the announcement of a new partnership with BetMGM last month, X has launched its much-anticipated new in-stream display of sports betting odds in time for the Super Bowl this weekend.
X's new graphics of sports betting odds will now appear in streams whenever users search for sports event-related topics. The odds will also contain a direct link through to the BetMGM website where users will be able to place a bet on that event.

This is a smart integration for BetMGM, given increased exposure of the app to sports beyond gaming and focusing attention among sports gamblers-particularly those who currently use the app to keep abreast of real-time updates surrounding live events.

Indeed, in 2022, studies pointed out that gamblers consider Twitter the source of predictions, injury reports, statistics, and other news of the day, as most sports gamblers stay updated via tweets in order to keep tracks of the live status of their wagers with 72%.

The study revealed that users from the service, now popularly known as X, place 15% more annual bets and 62% reported to place wagers weekly.

As such, it is a no-brainer for BetMGM, though it does come with a higher level of risk for X, in aligning itself with the risks involved with problem gambling.

Various studies have sought to investigate the possible dangerous effects which may be inflicted on people through sports betting promotions on social media, and X will come in pretty handy in such an activity. And already, regulatory bodies in the United States-and indeed many other countries-are beginning to contemplate new restrictions on sports-betting promotions. With that in mind, it does seem likely that this new agreement will bring more scrutiny on X at the least and may lead to more calls to ban sports betting promotions in total, specifically given that these new odds displays are going to be presented to all users, including younger audiences, in the app.

Also of note: same report cited above further determined that one in three gamblers would not be able to place as many bets if Twitter did not exist, both because of the information that could be culled from other users and the public discourse over major events.

This does seem to shine more available light on X in this sense, though. There's also the matter of the fact that X must now start generating revenue, however.
The platform's ad revenue is still reportedly down around 50% on pre-Elon levels, and this new arrangement will, at the least, help to bring in more money from BetMGM direct, not to mention other sports betting outlets that may be more interested in X advertising as a result.

Is that a good thing? It's part of the reason many other apps have stayed away from publishing gambling odds in the first place, but then again, if X really wants to be an "everything app," gambling is just another aspect it's eventually going to want to lean into.

It will be interesting to see how this is viewed by regulators going forward.