With the growing acceptance and popularity of sports betting, more mainstream and well-known companies are creating partnerships with gaming companies. One thing we hadn’t seen yet is a major media network doing this, but Fox Entertainment is changing that. Within Fox, the division of Fox Sports has created a sports betting platform named Fox Bet.
Fox Sports is working with The Stars Group to power Fox Bet, which is an online sports betting website created for the state of New Jersey. Fox and The Stars Group agreed to deal back in May, but now is the first time the resulting sports betting product has surfaced. As Fox Bet launches in New Jersey, out goes the BetStars website. But the site hasn’t disappeared because in actuality, Fox Bet is just a rebranding of The Stars Group’s original New Jersey betting website, BetStars.
Because the two websites are virtually the same product with different branding, betting options will remain the same, as will the coverage of all the most popular U.S. sports. With Fox Sports now being thrown in the mix, the website will now also allow bettors to view important game information that Fox Sports provides on their own network. This includes things like game score, real-time betting odds, and box score, all of which can help influence a betting decision.
Fox’s participation in Fox Bet is an excellent way to combine strong, in-depth sports coverage with an effective betting solution. Other betting solutions are extremely limited because they haven’t yet provided a way for bettors to directly connect with the game they are betting on. With Fox Bet, New Jersey bettors will now be able to place educated and engaged bets with ease unlike anywhere else in the country.
U.S. media networks have been hesitant to embrace legal sports betting for fear of negative public perception. Fox is in a unique position though because owner Rupert Murdoch has actually created a successful sports betting platform before. Previously, Murdoch launched Sky Bet in the U.K. through an earlier partnership with The Stars Group.
What seems to have made Sky Bet successful is its target audience. Sky Bet primarily aims for infrequent, low-risk bettors. CEO for Fox Bet, Robin Chhabra, has indicated that Fox Bet will do the same. Fox Bet will also be used to increase user engagement in the form of custom bet requests. The unique combination of sports media coverage from Fox Sports, ability to offer feedback, and proven marketing strategy will create an excellent solution for bettors of New Jersey.
Fox Bet has some new competition
Sports new website theScore is also offering a betting solution. They have created a new mobile app, theScore Bet. While theScore may not have access to the media coverage of Fox News, bettors can still integrate settings from the base theScore app over to the theScore Bet app. This includes information like teams, games, and sports to follow. For those that already use theScore, this offers an excellent way of directly engaging with the sports you follow.
With Fox Sports and theScore both getting directly involved in sports betting, there’s a great chance other media networks will follow if their ventures are successful. While they may both be limited to New Jersey right now, don’t count out the expansion into other states as legalization spreads and mobile betting gains more acceptance.
