NYRA Bets and FOX Sports Online Gambling Expansion

FOX Bet NYRA

FOX Sports isn’t just dipping its toes in the US online gambling space. Instead, the media company has decided to dive in headfirst and can now boast positions in online poker, online casino, online sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and online horse racing betting.

FOX Sports recently extended and increased its relationship with the New York Racing Association (NYRA) on the horse racing front. The new terms will see FOX’s broadcast deal with the NYRA extended through 2030, as well as acquiring a 25% equity stake in the NYRA, with an option to increase its ownership to 49.9% in the future.

According to Sportico:

“Since Fox Sports expanded its coverage of NYRA events a few years ago, NYRA Bets’ handle has expanded dramatically. Wagers on the platform have grown from $7.2 million in 2016 to $225 million in 2020.”

“Fox Sports is really evolving from being a purely media content brand into a content and gaming brand,” Michael Mulvihill, head of strategy and analytics at Fox Sports, told Sportico. “There’s this conversation around how media companies like us—like Comcast, Disney, or whoever—how are we going to lever that TV exposure to drive wagers?” Mulvihill said. “We’re already seeing a blueprint for that future in horse racing.”

FOX’s Foray into Sports Betting and Online Gambling

The NYRA deal is similar to the 2019 deal FOX Sports entered with The Stars Group, culminating in the FOX Bet online sports betting site. Previously, FOX had invested in DraftKings.

The specifics of the FOX Sports-Stars Group deal were:

  • This is a 25-year agreement that gives The Stars Group the exclusive use of some of Fox Sports’ trademarks in the United States for sports betting.
  • Fox Sports will acquire a 4.99% stake in The Stars Group for a price tag of $236 million.
  • Two separate products will launch in Fall 2019 – a free-to-play product and legal sports betting in states where this is allowed.
  • The Stars Group will gain exclusive advertising and other rights on select Fox Sports media and digital assets.
  • Fox has the right to become a 50-50 joint venture partner with TSG’s US operations within a decade.
  • The current chief corporate development officer for TSG, Robin Chhabra will become CEO of the new Fox Bet.

The newly created FOX Bet was positioned to be a significant player in the burgeoning US sports betting space. Those hopes were put on ice following one of the mega-mergers that are occurred when Flutter acquired The Stars Group later in 2019.

With FanDuel dominating in the US, FOX Bet has been sent to the bullpen, although it has been deployed as a second skin in some states, and its pre-merger market access deals are also helpful. Still, Fox Bet has been lagging some of its better-performing peers in the US.

Based on comments to Sportico, it appears FOX Sports believes a comprehensive suite of online gambling options could act as a rising tide. “I think right now they are complementary products,” Mulvihill said. “It’s certainly interesting to think about how in the future our approach to gaming could be more unified, and that’s probably as much as I can say right now.”

What Is the NYRA?

NYRA Bets is the official online horse racing betting platform of the New York Racing Association. The online horseracing site is available in 30 states across the country.  The NYRA mobile betting site competes with other online horseracing products like TVG and TwinSpires.

NYRABets.com launched in 2016 as the online betting extension of the NYRA, which operates as a non-profit organization that runs thoroughbred racing at New York’s three major race tracks: Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.

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