October 16, 2019 4 min read

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MLB and Fox Bet Tie Up Data and Marketing Partnership

  • Fox Bet joins forces with MLB as Authorized Gaming Partner
  • The companies will explore marketing and data opportunities
  • No financial details of the deal disclosed

TSG-owned Fox Bet became the fourth authorized gaming partner for MLB on Tuesday, October 15.

Fox Bet Becomes MLB Authorized Partner

The Major League Baseball (MLB) announced on Tuesday, October 15 that Fox Bet, the gambling platform of The Stars Group and Fox Sports, had become an Authorized Gaming Partner of MLB in the US.

This allows Fox Bet to use MLB’s data feed and trademarks for its real-money betting app as well as for its F2P product Fox Sports Super 6.

The deal further strengthens Fox Bet’s position on the US market. The company is already present in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which are the leading sports betting markets in the U.S. to date. Just today, New Jersey posted total revenue of over $37 million for September 2019, a new record-high. Furthermore, according to its own claims, the Fox Sports Super 6 had more than 280,000 downloads in the first ten days after launch.

Robin Chhabra, Fox Bet’s chief executive, said the company continued to see great appetite for the Fox Bet app as well as for Fox Sports Super 6. He added that the partnership comes just in time as the League Championship Series and the World Series kick into high gear.

Commenting on the deal, Kenny Gersh, MLB’s executive vice president for gaming and new business ventures, said: “Adding The Stars Group and Fox Bet to our authorized gaming operator program continues our vision for ensuring we are serving fans with opportunity and choice.” MLB has already signed up the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel and MGM Resorts as authorized partners.

“Our official data feed, including real time and reliable game statistics, and league marks will enable The Stars Group to build unique and engaging gaming products around our sport,” Gersh added.

Furthermore, MLB and TSG will collaborate on responsible gaming controls and best-in-class practices to uphold the integrity of MLB games. As of today, MLB has four distinct Authorized Gaming Partners, including FanDuel, MGM, and DraftKings.

No financial data was disclosed but both parties assured that the companies would seek to collaborate over the coming seasons, as part of the ‘multi-year’ deal. MLB is one of the main U.S.-based sports leagues alongside PGA Tour and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to have sought closer partnerships with sports betting agencies.

Fox Bets Becomes a Powerhouse with Flutter Entertainment

Earlier this month, Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment — which also owns FanDuel, Paddy Power and BetFair — acquired The Stars Group in a deal worth $12.3 billion. The deal is said to have strengthened both Flutter Entertainment’s and TSG’s positions in the rapidly growing US sporting betting market.

Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment, said at the time: “The combination represents a great opportunity to deliver a step change in our presence in international markets and ensure we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the exciting opportunity in the US through a media relationship with Fox Sports as well as our development of US sports betting through Flutter’s FanDuel and TSG’s Fox Bet brands. We are committed to these two high quality brands to drive the growth of the Combined Group in the US.

Jackson further highlighted the benefits of combining the brands, with Flutter now having strong foothold in all four main pillars of gambling — daily fantasy sports, poker, sports betting and casinos.

We believe the combination of Flutter and TSG will deliver substantial value for shareholders. We will have an exceptional portfolio of leading recreational brands and best-in-class products on industry-leading technology platforms,” Jackson concluded.

In order to achieve economic alignment of Flutter’s and TSG’s strategic third-party relationships across their respective US businesses, Flutter entered into conditional arrangements with Fox Sports (TSG’s US media partner for Fox Bet), Fastball Holdings LLC and Boyd Interactive Gaming LLC (together Flutter’s co-shareholders in FanDuel Group).

Author

Simon is a freelance writer who specializes in gambling news and has been an author in the poker/casino scene for 10+ years. He brings valuable knowledge to the team and a different perspective, especially as a casual casino player.

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