The Stars Group’s US-facing FOX Bet sports betting brand is the latest gambling partner of Major League Baseball (MLB).
On Tuesday, MLB announced that FOX Bet’s mobile sports betting product was now an Authorized Gaming Partner of MLB in the US. FOX Bet brings MLB’s roster of Authorized Gaming Partners to four, joining DraftKings, FanDuel and MGM Resorts.
Like every other pact of this sort, the terms of this ‘multiyear’ deal weren’t disclosed. What we do know is that FOX Bet will have the right to use MLB’s official data feed and league trademarks across its sports betting app and via FOX Sports Super 6, the free-play sports prediction game that FOX Bet rolled out earlier last month.
FOX Bet was formed this spring as a joint venture of TSG and the Fox Sports network. The FOX Bet app made its official debut in September, piggybacking on TSG’s New Jersey-licensed online operations and has since launched betting operations across the state line in Pennsylvania.
Robin Chhabra, the TSG exec who was appointed CEO of FOX Bet, said Tuesday that access to MLB data would provide “a better experience for our customers.” Kenny Gersh, MLB’s VP of gaming & new business ventures, said the official data feed, “including real time and reliable game statistics … will enable The Stars Group to build unique and engaging gaming products around our sport.”
MLB, along with the National Basketball Association and the PGA Tour, have been the most aggressive leagues in pursuing a sports betting payday, be it from the licensing of official data feeds or the preposterous ‘integrity fees’ that the leagues claim is necessary to protect their sports from the alleged threats provided by betting.
MLB and the other leagues conveniently ignore the fact that, for decades, millions of Americans have been betting billions of dollars annually on their sports. Somehow, the leagues’ integrity has managed to survive this wagering tsunami just fine until now, apparently without the leagues spending a penny shoring up their integrity.
