Fox Bet Platform to Shutter

Fox Corp. and Flutter Entertainment Plc plan to wind down their Fox Bet online wagering business starting on Aug. 1, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the plans.

Flutter, parent of the competing betting service FanDuel, will keep the customer database and market-access agreements associated with the business, said the people, who asked not be identified since the decision hasn’t been announced. An announcement could come as soon as July 31.

Fox will retain rights to the Fox Bet brand and the related Super 6 promotion. It will also will keep its option to acquire an 18.6% stake in FanDuel.

Online betting was a big potential growth business for Fox, the broadcast business controlled by Rupert Murdoch. The company promoted the brand heavily during football games. 

The broadcaster created Fox Bet with Stars Group, but the relationship changed after Stars was acquired by Flutter. The latter focused on FanDuel and didn’t expand FoxBet as much as Fox Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch wanted.

Fox has had talks with other sports-betting operators about marketing agreements with its networks, one of the people said.