- Fubo Sportsbook is now ‘live’ with mobile and online sports betting in New Jersey.
- Fubo Sportsbook is a sports betting platform created by the gaming subsidiary of fuboTV.
- Fubo Sportsbook launched in Iowa and Arizona in late 2021. They also have market access deals in Pennsylvania and Indiana.
We’ve talked a lot about Fubo Sportsbook since FuboTV announced their plan to enter the sports betting business. Of the countless companies looking to jump on the sports betting gravy train, Fubo has arguably done the best of job any ‘outsider’ at making it work. They’ve launched in Arizona and Iowa and have just announced their launch in New Jersey. They also have market access deals to enter Pennsylvania and Indiana though no timeframe for those moves has been announced.
Fubo Sportsbook will be a serious player if they can manage to overcome the same obstacle that every sportsbook–and for that matter the entire industry–faces threatening their growth and prosperity: bone headed regulators and cronyist politicians determined to protect the legacy gaming industry and/or their financial benefactors. Their announcement comes at a time when it sounds like they’ve apparently capitulated to the realities of the US market–they’ve announced a ‘strategic review’ of their sports betting business. The end result will likely be a partnership similar to the one Sports Illustrated has with 888 Sports. It’s a shame if that is the case since Fubo Sportsbook has a good team in place and some very interesting ideas.
In the press release announcing their New Jersey launch they mentioned the ‘strategic review’, though they framed it as a ‘macroeconomic decision’. There’s some truth to that, but the reality is that they simply can’t get into enough markets fast enough to make it viable on their own:
The launch reinforces FuboTV’s commitment to interactive wagering following its recent decision to place its online wagering business under strategic review. The company continues to believe that an integrated wagering platform, offering both live video and a sportsbook, will result in the best viewing and gaming experience for consumers. However, given today’s macroeconomic environment, FuboTV has concluded that it will no longer pursue this opportunity on its own and is exploring the best path forward.
Were it not for the regulatory obstacles, Fubo Sportsbook would have a great opportunity to become a major player in sports betting. Here’s an outline of some of their sports betting strategies:
The launch in New Jersey, via an agreement with Caesars Entertainment, Inc., further expands FuboTV’s mission to deliver personalized omniscreen experiences that turn passive viewers into active participants. The wagering platform is purpose-built to meet U.S. sports fans’ growing demand for interactivity through the integration of a sports wagering platform with a live TV streaming experience. Users in the Garden State will soon be able to experience Fubo Sportsbook’s proprietary feature, Watch & Wager (formerly known as “Watching Now”), which leverages FuboTV’s first-party user data to recommend relevant bets based upon what viewers are streaming — even as they change the channel.
Here’s the official announcement of the New Jersey launch:
Fubo Gaming, a subsidiary of leading sports-first live TV streaming platform FuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), today announced the launch of Fubo Sportsbook in New Jersey after successfully completing the soft play phase of the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement regulatory process.
Starting today, sports enthusiasts 21 years of age and older across the Garden State can place a variety of wagers on thousands of live and future professional and out-of-state collegiate sporting events using the Fubo Sportsbook app on iOS and Android or on the website. The launch of Fubo’s revolutionary sportsbook, the first to integrate watching and wagering in one ecosystem, kicks off just in time for the 2022-23 football season, one of the busiest sports betting periods.
Fubo Gaming intends to continue iterating the app, launching additional features that will further integrate wagering into the FuboTV platform.
And we’ve got quotes starting with Fubo Gaming President Scott Butera. Butera has rock star level skills and smarts for the gaming business and to no surprise he drops an excellent quote:
“Launching Fubo Sportsbook in New Jersey is an important early step in the development of our integrated platform, which includes a recently improved user experience and enhanced product capabilities. As one of the largest and most established sports betting markets in the U.S., New Jersey will allow Fubo to analyze and efficiently develop the most engaging product features that are focused on driving streaming customers into wagering. New Jersey is known for having deeply passionate sports fans, who, we believe, will enjoy our one-of-a-kind immersive sports wagering and viewing experience in time for football season.”
David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, FuboTV also shared his thoughts:
“An integrated wagering platform, offering both live video and a sportsbook, is, we believe, the best gaming experience for consumers. Today’s launch marks an important milestone for Fubo Sportsbook. Our book is now available in three states, including one of the top wagering markets in the country, just 10 months after launching our first. We remain committed to interactive wagering and continue to explore potential partnership opportunities for Fubo Sportsbook.”
BTW, did you notice that they’ve ditched the lowercase stylized name of fuboTV? I’ve been pleading with them to do that for awhile now:
Fubo Sportsbook is now offering mobile and online sports betting in two US states. They launched in Iowa in early November and today announced the debut of their sportsbook platform in Arizona. Fubo Sportsbook has plans to add more states to their portfolio in 2022 as they expand their footprint. Based in Chicago, Fubo Sportsbook is the sports betting subsidiary of live TV streaming platform fuboTV. For now, that capitalization is correct–the streaming network uses the lowercase ‘f’ with the sportsbook using the uppercase ‘F’. I really hope they standardize it one way or another as it is a pain to keep switching back and forth when writing and article about them.
Jeff Fernandez, vice president, business development & ventures, New York Jets also gets a few lines in. Fubo Sportsbook has a partnership deal with the Jets:
“We are thrilled to fully activate our partnership with Fubo, providing Jets fans access to the Fubo sports betting experience on the app and in the Fubo Sportsbook Lounge as we kick off the 2022 Jets season. With the official launch of Fubo Sportsbook in New Jersey, the Fubo Lounge and Fubo’s wagering app will provide an opportunity for our fans to responsibly gamble on sporting events from one of the best experiential settings in the NFL.”
I’m a big fan of what Fubo Sportsbook has done to date. Hopefully, they won’t become a cautionary tale for the damage caused by the shortsighted, protectionist regulatory regimes that predominate in the US gaming industry.
