fuboTV previewed its interactive Fubo Sportsbook today, a feature previewed earlier this summer during coverage of the South American World Cup qualifying round matches.
As shown in the preview video below, switching channels on your streaming device will bring up a betting window on your phone through the Fubo Sportsbook app. Sports fans will be able to watch the game and bet in real time. Switch the game on your TV and the bets available will change on your phone.
Fubo Sportsbook is available in Pennsylvania (through The Cordish Companies), New Jersey and Indiana (through Caesars Entertainment, Inc.), and Iowa (through Casino Queen). The option is expected to begin rolling out state-by-state in the fourth quarter 2021, as long as they’re able to achieve regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction. Interested users can sign up at fubosportsbook.com.
In an interview during the preview phase, officials with the streaming service said they will allow viewers to look at live stats and then answer quiz questions. Viewers may predict possible outcomes, such as which team will score first, in exchange for a free year of fuboTV. This feature will be accessible on fuboTV’s Roku and Android apps, but it will eventually be an option for Fire TV, iOS, and web users too.
“Our hypothesis is that it’s going to be an engagement driver, but also in the bigger picture, it’s kind of our first step towards our overall gaming strategy,” said Mike Berkley, fuboTV’s chief product officer. “Think of this really as a platform feature, where we can create a more enhanced viewing experience for every kind of content we provide on the platform,” he said at the time.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service with about 90 top channels that start at $79.99 per month. This plan includes local channels, 25 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). In total, you should expect to pay about $91.99 per month, after adding in their RSN Fee. Fubo was previously known as “fuboTV.”
Because sports betting isn’t legal in every state and fuboTV doesn’t have a huge audience yet, the company will have to move slowly in this direction. The company hopes to have the contests fully available when football season begins in the fall. It doesn’t look like Fubo is going to stop there though. It’s possible that contests will be available for non-sporting events in the future too.
David Gandler, fuboTV’s co-founder and CEO, sees a lot of potential for this feature. In the future, Fubo could partner with other companies to give viewers a chance to win cars, food, and more.
“It allows us to isolate folks that are competitive and interested in additional opportunities,” Gandler said. “Some people will probably prefer to have more skin in the game than just the contests.”
“If things are going well, and we’ve added an additional revenue stream, we’ll look to balance that out,” Gandler said. “Given the fact that sports betting is profitable—it has a margin of, we believe, targeting around 50%—it’d be in our interest to see what we can do to [bring in] more people.”
Other companies already offer sports betting while streaming games. Dish Network offers a DraftKings app with its satellite boxes, while NBCUniversal offered betting during the PGA Tour on Peacock earlier this year.