FOX Bet was created as a joint venture between FOX Sports and Canadian company The Stars Group in 2019. The venture made FOX Sports the first major U.S. sports broadcaster to introduce a co-branded sports betting platform. However, The Stars Group was already experienced in this field. It historically focused on online poker – it owns world-famous brands PokerStars and Full Tilt – but in 2018 it acquired UK brand Sky Bet in a cash and stock deal.

Sky Bet was launched in collaboration with Sky Sports, the UK’s leading sports broadcaster, which was also created by FOX Sports founder Rupert Murdoch. The brand features prominently on Sky Sports broadcasts, while the famous broadcasters feature in its commercials. The idea was to create a similar offering for the nascent U.S. sports betting market in partnership with FOX Sports. As part of the deal, Fox Corp. acquired a 4.99% stake in The Stars Group for $236 million, and it can purchase up to a 50% stake in the company’s U.S. operations within a decade.

Just five months later, Flutter Entertainment – the owner of FanDuel, Paddy Power, Betfair and various other brands – agreed to purchase The Stars Group for $6 billion. The sale was completed in May 2020, forming the world’s largest online gaming company. It brought FanDuel, FOX Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sky Bet, PokerStars, Full Tilt, BetEasy, Adjarabet and Sportsbet under the same parent company.

FOX Corp. was given the option to acquire an 18.6% stake in Flutter’s U.S. subsidiary, FanDuel Group, in 2021. There are some legal complications surrounding this deal. FOX wants to acquire it at an $11.2 billion total valuation, the value set when Flutter bought out the founders of FanDuel in 2020, but Flutter believes it should pay a lot more. That dispute looks set to rumble on, but it should not have any impact upon the FOX Bet brand, which benefits from a popular FOX Bet Super 6 contest and strong branding.

The FOX sports betting site initially launched in New Jersey after tying up a deal with Resorts Atlantic City to operate on its license. It then expanded into Pennsylvania, Colorado and Michigan. In 2020, Flutter reported revenue of $800 million for FanDuel, compared to $96 million for FOX Bet. Chief executive Peter Jackson admitted that FOX Bet was “struggling” and that customer acquisition was low, but it is now investing in some interesting promotions and bonuses to redress the balance. FOX Bet has a reputation as a trustworthy, innovative online sportsbook, and it could become a major player in the U.S. sports betting market if it follows a similar trajectory to Sky Bet in the UK.