U.S. sports network Fox is reportedly about to invest in a sports betting platform. The corporation is said to be purchasing just under 5% of Canadian gambling company, The Stars Group Inc. This will be the very first time a media network has ever collaborated with a betting service and will offer consumers the chance to bet in states where the hobby has been legalized.
Fox Corp which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, will be purchasing a fraction of The Stars Group for a whopping $236 million in the next few months. The two businesses will team up to offer a sports betting service under the new brand name; ‘Fox Bet.’
10 year-opportunity
After a decade, Fox will then have the opportunity to purchase 50% of the Stars Group US business. As part of the collaboration, Fox agreed to allow Stars Group to hold a license to use the Fox trademark within their campaigns, while Stars have approved the idea of participating in a small amount of advertising on the Fox network.
By 2025, the company is thought to have secured a $9 billion revenue market due to the increase in advertising and sponsorships which are expected to develop in the next few years. This will also coincide with the growth and popularity of sports betting, alongside other online games such as casino and poker.
The Star Group’s chief executive officer Rafi Ashkenazi, claimed that the media outlet was hoping to add further services to their campaign while Fox CEO Eric Shanks also stated that the sports betting industry was a growing market and provide an immense amount of opportunity for the Fox brand by having the potential to reach out to more consumers.
Legalization of sports betting
At the current time, sports gambling has been legalized in eight states; this includes in New Jersey, which legalized sports gambling back in 2018. However, there are reports that suggest gambling could become a legal activity in fifteen states by the end of 2019 and thirty states by the end of 2020. These increasing figures will allow Fox to expand on its revenue in the next two years alone. New Jersey alone staked more than $294 million back in March 2019, which shows how sports betting has grown in popularity significantly in the last few years.
Fox’s ambitions
Fox recently sold a large proportion of its entertainment resources to Walt Disney for an impressive $71 billion, but it’s clear that the corporation has a clear focus on the sports and television and industries in the upcoming future. Despite their hopes for Disney to jump on the betting bandwagon, it seems that the brand has very little interest in the involvement of gambling. The CEO of Disney Bog Igner claimed that he doesn’t foresee Disney incorporating gambling into their campaign any time soon.
In the near future, it may be a possibility that Fox will merge live broadcasting with live sports betting onto one single screen. This tactic has already benefited several other companies by stimulating user engagement.
