Billionaire Barry Diller InterActive Corp. Announces Monday To Buy About 12% Of MGM Resorts – Online Gambling Prospects Securing A $ 1 Billion MGM Resorts Investment. InterActive Corp announced Monday that it is buying a 12 percent stake, worth about $ 1 billion, in the Las Vegas-based gaming giant.
Despite the lack of income at its physical facilities, IAC billionaire Barry Diller bought a stake in MGM because of his prospects in the online gambling market.
“MGM provides a ‘once in a decade’ opportunity for IAC to have a meaningful share of a leading brand in a large category with great potential to move online,” said Diller in a letter to shareholders.
According to a Fox Business report, Diller also stated that he had been looking to get into the online gambling space “for a while” and that the industry was worth $ 450 billion on a global scale. IAC is a New York-based holding company that has brands in more than 100 countries.
With larger gambling centers suffering from declining tourism and falling revenue from restrictions stemming from new security protocols, online spaces, which are legal, have been booming.
While New Jersey casinos were closed, online operator Garden State hit record revenues and the state’s most successful online casino, Golden Nugget, recently secured a partnership in Michigan. The partnership will allow the company to operate in the state when its online gambling market launches later this year or early 2021.
In June, the most recent month for which data is available, New Jersey online casinos won $ 84.9 million from gamblers, maintaining an all-time high, while Pennsylvania grossed $ 55.8 million. According to some analysts, the Michigan online gaming market is worth $ 650 million in annual revenue, roughly the equivalent of Pennsylvania’s figures.
West Virginia launched an online casino market in late July. Online poker is also legalized under laws legalizing online gambling, but it has not yet been launched.