All Access

Media Deals

Media Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Media Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Sports betting platform Fox Bet is shutting down, FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment and Fox Corp. announced Monday.

Why it matters: Despite the growing popularity of sports betting and brand power of broadcasters like Fox, the operations have not been easily profitable.

Catch up quick: Fox launched the sports betting platform in 2019 with The Stars Group, which was acquired by Dublin-based Flutter in 2020.

Flutter reported a loss of $313 million for its U.S. business in its 2022 annual report.

Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said on a March earnings call that Fox Bet and PokerStars contributed only 3% of U.S. revenue and 30% of losses. He said he expected "between half and two-thirds of [$75 million in losses] to go away" if Fox Bet were shut down.

Details: Fox Bet will be phased out between Monday and Aug. 31.

Fox will retain the use of the Fox Bet brand and plans to launch a Fox Super 6 game — the name of its free-to-play contest picking the winners of games — later this summer, according to the release.

Fox will keep its 2.5% stake in Flutter and hold its option to acquire 18.6% of FanDuel.

Between the lines: Fox had big plans for Fox Bet when it introduced the app in 2019, but those plans hit a snag over a lengthy legal dispute with Flutter in 2021 over the price that Fox would have to pay to buy a stake in FanDuel.

Last year, an arbitrator said that Fox has the right to buy an 18.6% stake in FanDuel from Flutter, but not at the price it was hoping for.

The legal drama delayed Fox's ability to roll out the app in the U.S.

What we're watching: Flutter had considered an IPO for FanDuel, but Flutter shareholders voted earlier this year for a U.S. stock listing of Flutter.

FanDuel owner Flutter to shut down Fox Bet

Animated illustration of a sports betting app on a phone starting to shake, and a delete button popping up in the top right corner.

Sports betting

Sports betting platform Fox Bet is shutting down, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="FanDuel" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/24/fanduel-alison-kutler-to-responsible-gaming" data-vars-content-id="b9007c3c-0807-4cc1-98ee-d33e9e0b9f71" data-vars-headline="FanDuel owner Flutter to shut down Fox Bet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/24/fanduel-alison-kutler-to-responsible-gaming" target="_self">FanDuel</a> owner Flutter Entertainment and Fox Corp. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced" data-vars-click-url="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flutter-entertainment-plc-and-fox-corporation-announce-close-of-fox-bet-301888595.html" data-vars-content-id="b9007c3c-0807-4cc1-98ee-d33e9e0b9f71" data-vars-headline="FanDuel owner Flutter to shut down Fox Bet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flutter-entertainment-plc-and-fox-corporation-announce-close-of-fox-bet-301888595.html" target="_blank">announced</a> Monday.Why it matters: Despite the growing popularity of sports betting and brand power of broadcasters like Fox, the operations have not been easily profitable.

FanDuel owner Flutter to shut down Fox Bet

What to read next