- FOX Wager was shuttered in 2023
- Media firm has possibility to accumulate 18.6% of FanDuel
- It additionally owns $900 million value of Flutter Leisure fairness
Fox Company (NASDAQ: FOX) is likely one of the greatest names in US sports activities broadcasting and streaming, nevertheless it’s not trying to leverage that positioning to get again into the world of sports activities wagering.
A Fox Sports activities brand. The corporate isn’t trying to return to sports activities wagering. (Picture: Fox Sports activities)
At UBS’ 2025 International Media and Communications Convention on Monday, CFO Steven Tomsic mentioned the media behemoth isn’t eyeing a return to sports activities betting. In July 2023, Information Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) and Flutter Leisure (NYSE: FLUT) scrapped FOX Wager, which the latter got here to regulate through its 2020 acquisition of the Stars Group.
By means of Flutter’s acquisition of Star, Fox turned an investor within the gaming entity and now owns 2.5% of the FanDuel mother or father. Tomsic mentioned on the UBS convention that stake is value $900 million.
The 2023 demise of FOX Wager wasn’t stunning. For years prior, Flutter made no secret of prioritizing FanDuel whereas letting FOX Wager languish. The media firm nonetheless has rights to FOX Wager branding.
Fox Content material to Be Sports activities Betting Investor
Quickly after FOX Wager met its finish, rumors surfaced that the published large was trying to resuscitate the enterprise and was in talks with different gaming firms to that impact. Nothing panned out. Quick-forward to 2025, and it seems as if Fox is content material to be a sports activities betting investor.
We have now huge respect for what Flutter brings to the desk when it comes to sports activities betting prowess,” mentioned Tomsic on the UBS convention. “We’re joyful as a sports activities enterprise to deliver the sports activities broadcasting component to it.”
Fox could also be clever to remain out of sports activities betting. Within the US, it’s an ultra-competitive trade during which practically all entrants have had issue threatening the DraftKings/FanDuel duopoly. The US sports activities betting graveyard is suffering from a slew of operators, together with some with well-known manufacturers, that threw within the towel as a result of they couldn’t achieve satisfactory market share.
Such efforts are expensive and Fox could also be higher off conserving money to agency its steadiness sheet whereas rising different high-performing companies. On a associated be aware, Tomsic mentioned the corporate isn’t actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions over the close to time period.
Fox Nonetheless Has Sports activities Betting Publicity
Whereas Fox isn’t straight engaged in both the business-to-business or consumer-facing sides of the sports activities wagering trade, it has publicity to the latter by means of its possibility to accumulate 18.6% of FanDuel. The media entity can train these rights by means of 2030.
Fox beforehand valued FanDuel at $35 billion, that means it believes 18.6% is value $6.5 billion. Nonetheless, the July 2025 transaction during which Flutter acquired an impressive 5% share of FanDuel from Boyd Gaming implied that, on the time, the sportsbook was value $31 billion, or $4 billion lower than Fox’s estimate.
Nonetheless, the rights to accumulate 18.6% of FanDuel place Fox to learn from sports activities betting progress with out having to straight take part within the trade.
