Major League Baseball Partners with EquiLottery Games to Offer Quick-Draw Parlay-Style Game

Posted on: September 14, 2019, 09:00h. 

Last updated on: September 14, 2019, 11:04h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

EquiLottery Games CEO Brad Cummings believes the new lottery draw game his company has developed in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) will hit a home run.

Major League Baseball and EquiLottery Games are taking a swing at offering a quick-draw game to state lotteries across the country. (Image: Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

“Pretty cool, isn’t it? It’s certainly exceeded my expectation when we started this thing 10 years ago,” Cummings told Casino.org this week.

The two organizations announced a multi-year partnership, unveiling Baseball Bucks. The premise of the game will allow a lottery bettor to buy a $5 quick-pick ticket that will play similar to a parlay card. That ticket will include 10 games on the MLB regular season schedule, with teams randomly selected to win each game. Bettors will win a prize if their ticket matches at least seven winners.

The agreement includes the possibility of EquiLottery and MLB working together on other games based on live baseball outcomes. The potential for those game could include offering grand prizes comparable to what Powerball and Mega Millions offers, EquiLottery announced in its news release.

“We are always aiming to work with partners who share our goal of providing innovative ways for fans to engage with live games… We’re looking forward to working with Brad and EquiLottery Games to bring Baseball Bucks to as many jurisdictions as we can,” said Kenny Gersh, MLB’s executive vice president for gaming & new business ventures.

Next Step: Getting Lotteries on Board

Now that the partnership has been announced, the next step will be to find at least one state lottery that will offer the game. So far, Cummings said, he’s been pleased with how the game’s been received.

We have a really solid relationship, personally, with every lottery across the country,” he said. “But with Major League Baseball, what it brings for us is that extra level of credibility to the company… and the response when I walk into a meeting with (a state) lottery and Major League Baseball by my side is obviously different and more beneficial to the company than just me walking in by myself.”

The goal is to have at least one state on board by the end of the calendar year to offer the game for next season, he added. The plan, for now, is to go with a state-by-state approach, but there’s the possibility of working with a multi-state lottery association as well.

EquiLottery Coming Off Successful Pilot

The announcement of Baseball Bucks comes just a couple of months after the conclusion of Louisville, Ky.-based EquiLottery’s Win Place Show pilot with the Kentucky Lottery. That 90-day trial, which concluded in June, saw EquiLottery sell tickets in 45 retailers in the state.

For a $2 ticket, bettors got the numbers of three horses in the featured race for that day. Just like a trifecta, bettors won if the numbers matched the first three finishers in order. The game featured an online component allowing the bettor to watch the race from a mobile app.

Talks with MLB officials began before Win Place Show was launched.

“It was never explicitly stated, but certainly the fact that we did meet and exceed our financial goals with the big Kentucky Lottery pilot for Win Place Show was very helpful in moving things forward,” Cummings said.

Besides MLB and horse racing, EquiLottery has also produced an auto racing game in conjunction with Speedway Motorsports. Similar to Win Place Show, Car Cash would allow bettors to buy a quick pick ticket with three randomly selected entries. If their ticket matches the top three finishers in the race, they would win a top prize estimated at $50,000.