Electronic Arts’ “FIFA 22” game already has 9.1 million players following its global release on Oct. 1, but it may be the last to use the FIFA name.

The company is “exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games,” wrote EA Sports GM Cam Weber. “This means we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA.”

This would not affect EA’s existing soccer licensing partnerships with UEFA, CONMEBOL, Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, and others. EA’s current deal with FIFA runs until 2022.

• Dropping “FIFA” from its soccer franchise title would not be a trivial move: The “FIFA” series is estimated to be worth over $2 billion annually to EA.
• The company made $6.1 billion in revenue in the 12 months ending June 30.
• “FIFA” holds gaming name and likeness rights across European soccer but has lost four Serie A clubs to “Pro Evolution Soccer” maker Konami: Juventus, Atalanta, AS Roma, and Napoli.

EA’s five-year, $1.5 billion licensing deal with the NFL and NFLPA runs through 2026, allowing for NFL logos and player likenesses in its “Madden” series.

The company is exploring college football name and license deals as it looks to revive its long-dormant “NCAA Football” franchise in 2023.

A $22.4 billion acquisition in the sports betting industry could set off a domino effect.

MGM Resorts will seek to gain control of its U.S.-based sports betting venture BetMGM if DraftKings succeeds in purchasing Entain.

DraftKings made a $22.4 billion bid for the British sports betting giant, and must present a formal offer for the company by Oct. 19, per United Kingdom regulations.

Entain and MGM Resorts each own 50% of BetMGM. Under the terms of the shared-ownership agreement, a new owner of Entain would need MGM’s approval before operating BetMGM in the U.S.

• “We have 50% now. I would like more. I would need more,” MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said on Tuesday at the Global Gaming Expo.
• BetMGM is expected to bring in over $1 billion in revenue next year.
• MGM Resorts made an $11 billion bid for Entain in January.

Entain’s software provides sports betting odds, player management systems, and other core technology underpinning sports betting. Hornbuckle said that MGM wants long-term control over the tech, preferably through taking over BetMGM.

Last month, MGM Resorts paid $1.63 billion to become the casino and resort operator of The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas as part of a $5.6 billion deal.

The parent company of Triller is in advanced talks with multiple companies that could result in an acquisition or merger, a source tells Front Office Sports.

Bally’s is among the companies that have had discussions to purchase TrillerNet, another source told FOS. That source was not a party to the talks between TrillerNet and the other companies.

A Bally’s spokesperson declined comment when reached by FOS on Thursday.

• Two other interested companies are outside the sports, entertainment, and betting spaces, the source said.
• TrillerNet reportedly had plans to go public. In the process of prepping for a direct listing by year’s end, the company received offers from “a number of large, multi-billion dollar companies,” the source said.

TrillerNet executives were pinning the company’s valuation as high as $5 billion. A recent news release stated that the Triller app has more than 300 million users.

In the past year, Triller found success staging boxing matches featuring former champs Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. along with a fight between Jake Paul and ex-NBA star Nate Robinson.

“We are always exploring all alternatives to maximizing shareholder value,” a Triller spokesperson told FOS.

iFIT postponed its IPO on Thursday, citing adverse market conditions after planning to raise up to $646 million.

Reports in August suggested that the company could have even blown past that figure to raise as much as $800 million. Now, it will “continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering.”

iFIT joins Life Time Group as another fitness company recently impacted by market volatility. Life Time, which is backed by private equity firm TPG, decreased its IPO size to $702 million on Wednesday, down from $966 million.

iFIT — which already owns various fitness brands including ProForm and NordicTrack — had made multiple acquisitions in anticipation of an IPO.

• In July, the company acquired 29029, a producer of endurance hiking events.
• That same month, it acquired women’s health and fitness platform Sweat for a reported $300 million.

iFIT, formerly ICON, generated $1.7 billion in revenue in fiscal 2021, up from $851.7 million during the same period a year prior. Last year, it raised $200 million in a funding round led by LVMH-backed firm L Catterton, valuing the company at $7 billion.