Fox to Wind Down Sports-Betting Site Fox Bet
Broadcaster has an option to buy 18.6% stake in FanDuel Fox launched Fox Bet in 2019 through a partnership with The Stars Group. Photo: The Wall Street Journal By Will Feuer July 31, 2023 11:57 am ET Fox is closing down Fox Bet, the broadcaster’s sports-betting venture, after it failed to grow as quickly as more dominant players in the nascent U.S. online-gambling market. Fox and its partner, FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment, said Monday they would wind down Fox Bet between July 31 and Aug. 31. Fox Bet said it stopped accepting bets. Fox Bet’s sports-gambling services were available in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The business also operated a free-to-play game, called Fox Bet Super 6. Fox said it would retain future use
Fox launched Fox Bet in 2019 through a partnership with The Stars Group.
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
Fox is closing down Fox Bet, the broadcaster’s sports-betting venture, after it failed to grow as quickly as more dominant players in the nascent U.S. online-gambling market.
Fox and its partner, FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment, said Monday they would wind down Fox Bet between July 31 and Aug. 31. Fox Bet said it stopped accepting bets.
Fox Bet’s sports-gambling services were available in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The business also operated a free-to-play game, called Fox Bet Super 6. Fox said it would retain future use of the brands, and plans to launch a new Fox Bet Super 6 game later this summer.
Fox and News Corp, the parent of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones, share common ownership.
Fox still has the option to buy an 18.6% stake in sports-betting app FanDuel. Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic told analysts on a February conference call that Fox would like to see Fox Bet grow, but that Flutter was ultimately responsible for investing in it. “In some respects, we’re at their behest in terms of how they develop that,” he said.
“When we look at the totality of our betting position, we increasingly think that the option that we have over FanDuel is the one that’s really important for us,” Tomsic said.
Fox launched Fox Bet in 2019 through a partnership with The Stars Group. As part of the deal, Fox bought a roughly 5% stake in The Stars Group for $236 million, and won the right to buy a 50% stake in the company’s U.S. business within 10 years.
Later that year, Flutter agreed to buy The Stars Group in a $6 billion deal. Fox and Flutter later went to court over how Fox’s option to buy a larger stake in The Stars Group’s U.S. operations would carry over to Flutter.
Last year, an arbitrator ruled that Fox has the option to buy a stake in FanDuel from Flutter for about $3.7 billion.
Fox said Monday it will continue to hold its option to buy an 18.6% stake in FanDuel. The company also holds a 2.5% stake in Flutter.
Shares of Fox rose 1.6% to $33.77 in morning trading.
Write to Will Feuer at [email protected]
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