Flutter Entertainment and Fox Corporation have announced the closure of U.S. sports betting platform FOX Bet.
According to a press release issued on Sunday July 30th, FOX Bet will begin a phased closure of all operations beginning today (July 31st) and running through August 31st 2023.
European company Flutter, the world’s largest online betting company, also owns U.S. sports betting market leader FanDuel and has stated that FOX Bet contributed less than 3% to its total U.S. revenue figure of $3.3 billion / £2.6 billion / €3.03 billion last year.
The move to close FOX Bet comes as Flutter aims to return to profit in 2023 after reporting a $313 million / £243.4 million / €283.6 million loss in the United States for 2022. If it manages to do so, it could become the first sports betting operator in the USA to turn a profit since the federal ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018.
According to Flutter’s end of year financial report. FOX Bet and PokerStars accounted for $91 million / £70.7 million / €82.4 million of that loss. At the time Flutter CEO Peter Jackson had stated that if FOX Bet was no longer operational, he expected “between half and two-thirds of that [loss] to go away”.
The press release also reveals that Fox will retain future use of the FOX and FOX Bet brands. Fox will also continue to hold its its 2.5% stake in Flutter alongside its option to acquire 18.6% of FanDuel.
Fox originally partnered with online gambling company The Stars Group (TSG) in 2019 to launch FOX Bet. Later that year Flutter agreed a deal to acquire The Stars Group.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.