Fox Decides to Close Down Fox Bet Amid Struggles to Capture Market Share

Bloomberg News has reported that Fox and Flutter Entertainment plan to shut down Fox Bet Sportsbook. While the official announcement has not been made, it is believed that it could come as soon as today. According to Bloomberg, the two partners intend to close down the struggling sportsbook soon, possibly within the next month. Fox Bet Sportsbook is currently available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Colorado. Their exit will mean each state will have another sports betting operator license available. 

While the sportsbook will be gone, it will not be a total loss for Fox. The media giant can buy an 18.6% stake in FanDuel thanks to their partnership with Flutter Entertainment. Flutter was operating Fox Bet, and they own 95% of FanDuel, which is where Fox’s stake will come from. Fox’s percentage will likely be worth over $20 billion, which will help make up for their own sportsbook’s failure.

The demise of Fox Bet is another example of smaller operators being driven out of the sports betting market. While Fox believed their television rights for major sports leagues would help them compete, their sportsbook was able to gain much traction in any of the four states it was in. Fox Bet was not alone in this struggle, as we have seen an uptick in sportsbooks closing after failing to cut into the market share of industry giants such as DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and BetMGM.

Colorado Loses Yet Another Sportsbook

While we have seen many sportsbooks begin to exit the US sports betting market, few states have been affected more than Colorado. The state just lost PlayUp Sportsbook, and Fox Bet will mark the sixth sportsbook to exit the state in the last two years. The closure of these sportsbooks leads many bettors to turn to the biggest operators, further solidifying their dominance in the Centennial State.

Colorado is not the only sports betting market struggling to stay competitive, as operators around the country find it impossible to draw bettors. It appears we have four titans of the industry, which could lead to a smaller and less competitive market, leaving states unable to find operators for their licenses.