FuboTV sets forth integrated betting strategy with Vigtory acquisition plan

Sports streaming platform FuboTV has executed a binding letter of intent to acquire sports betting and interactive gaming company Vigtory, and said it expects to launch a betting ‘sportsbook’ before the end of the year.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

fuboTV intends to use Vigtory’s sportsbook platform and digital gaming assets, and its consumer-driven betting technology, to develop a betting service for its customers.

Vigtory has also been in discussions for market access agreements in the eastern part of the US and currently has a deal secured in Iowa through Casino Queen.

Vigtory was founded in 2019 by Sam Rattner, a digital sports entrepreneur who  previously founded Engine Sports, a platform for retail sports gambling outfits to build algorithmic betting strategies within an interactive experience. Scott Butera, who was the president of interactive gaming at MGM Resorts International and was instrumental in launching BetMGM, joined Vigtory as Rattner’s co-CEO in 2020.

Under the proposed acquisition, both Butera and Rattner will join fuboTV’s gaming division as president and COO, respectively.

Through its December 2020 acquisition of Balto Sports and its content automation software, fuboTV also said it intends to launch a free to play gaming experience this summer. Free to play gaming, which will be available to all consumers whether or not they are fuboTV subscribers, will first launch in a standalone app and later be integrated directly into the fuboTV user experience. fuboTV intends to launch a sportsbook app where consumers can see current betting lines, place a variety of wagers and cash in their winnings. Fubo also expects to integrate the sportsbook into fuboTV’s live TV streaming platform for a seamless viewing and wagering experience.

David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV, said that “uniquely, fuboTV will be a media company and sportsbook all-in-one” as a result of its moves in this market.

Analysts at Berenberg were positive on the news, noting that the detailed plans unveiled by the company’s management “should put to rest skepticism about 1) whether Fubo will actually be able to execute a wagering strategy and 2) by when will such a strategy take shape”.

They said that the plans indicate that “Fubo will have a differentiated sports betting product that more closely resembles an in-person sportsbook in one’s home”.

Berenberg said that “a viable wagering strategy is a critical component that differentiates Fubo’s product relative to its much larger competitors” such as Hulu+ Live and YouTube TV.

fuboTV recently disclosed preliminary Q4 2020 results, including that it expects to have exceeded 545,000 paid subscribers in 2020, an increase of more than 72% year-over-year.