fuboTV buying Vigtory gaming
January 12, 2021
fuboTV is buying interactive gaming company Vigtory, and expects to launch a sportsbook before the end of the year.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. fuboTV intends to leverage Vigtory’s sportsbook platform and digital gaming assets, and its consumer-driven betting technology, to develop a frictionless betting experience for fubo’s customers. Additionally, Vigtory has 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 and backed by SeventySix Capital. Rattner is a digital sports entrepreneur who is noted for developing and integrating sports betting content and technology with robust consumer experiences. Rattner previously founded Engine Sports, a back-testing engine allowing retail sports bettors the ability 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. Prior to MGM, Butera was commissioner of the Arena Football League and held C-suite leadership positions at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Tropicana Entertainment, Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino and Trump Entertainment, among other gaming businesses.
Under the proposed acquisition, both Butera and Rattner will join fuboTV’s gaming division as president and COO, respectively.
“We believe online sports wagering is a highly complementary business to our sports-first live TV streaming platform,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV. “We don’t see wagering as simply an add-on product to fuboTV. Instead, we believe there is a real flywheel opportunity with streaming video content and interactivity. Our free to play gaming experience, which will be available to all consumers, will build further scale to fuboTV, essentially acting as another lead generator for driving subscribers to our streaming video platform and, ultimately, our sportsbook. We not only expect sports wagering to become a new line of business and source of revenue, but we also expect that it will increase user engagement on fuboTV resulting in higher ad monetisation, better subscriber retention and reduced subscriber acquisition costs.”
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 per cent year-over-year.