Lachlan Murdoch, Chairman and CEO at FOX Corporation, believes licensing FOX Bet is a logical step, but it may not be the next logical step as it looks to continue its US expansion.
Speaking at a recent investor conference, Murdoch updated investors on the progress of FOX Bet, which is currently only available as a free-to-play game ‘FOX Bet Super 6’.
The FOX CEO stated that he was “disappointed” with its progress as he wants to see it rolled out in more states. It is currently only live in four states and has six million users, whereas, across the US, 30 states and Washington DC have legalized sports betting.
However, FOX is also having active conversations about its development with Flutter, which bought the Stars Group in 2020 – the online betting company that created FOX Bet with Murdoch in 2019.
FOX has an opportunity to purchase 50% of FOX Bet as part of the Flutter-Stars Group acquisition, as well as an option to acquire 18.6% of FanDuel, which Murdoch described as “a huge option and valuable option”.
He stated: “So there are conversations with Flutter. In terms of how we move forward in this relationship and make it work for both parties really involves all aspects of that.
“If there’s a process where the conversations aren’t fruitful and mutually acceptable, then there’s sort of an arbitration process we could trigger. But we’re not at that stage yet.”
As for FOX potentially becoming a licensed sports betting platform, Murdoch said that the company will always have a partner that understands bookmaking as setting odds isn’t its skill set.
However, he added that to fully monetize its position in the marketplace, being licensed would be a logical step, but not necessarily a logical next step.
He said: “For us to fully monetize our position and really our strength in this marketplace, being licensed would be a logical step. I’m not sure it’s a logical next step, but it’s a logical step along the way. And for instance, if we were to exercise our 18.6% in FanDuel, we’d have to become licensed to certainly hold at that stake.”
