The Walt Disney Company has acquired a stake in the New Jersey sportsbook and sports Fantasy kingpin DraftKings.
The Film and entertainment giant did not go out to deliberately head-hunt the sports gaming operator. DraftKings was included with the cable networks and film franchises targeted by Disney in its purchase of 21st Century Fox. The recent deal cost Disney $71.4 billion.
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger have indicated that his company has no intention of getting involved in sports betting. Rather it will work to support its new sportsbook acquisition
“We’ll provide programming that will, I guess, be designed to enlighten people who are betting on sports,” Iger is reported to have said at a Disney conference this month.
“But that’s as far as we would go. I think you’ll see more of it (sports betting) integrated with the programming, but we don’t intend to get into the gambling business.”
20th Century Fox gained its stake in DraftKings nearly four years ago as part of a $300m venture funding deal.
ESPN to also partner Caesars
Less than a week after Iger’s announcement, ESPN disclosed that they had entered into a partnership with Caesars Entertainment. It will see Caesars becoming the official odds supplier for Disney which owns an 80 percent stake in ESPN.
At this time there is uncertainty if or whether Caesars and Draftkings will be working with ESPN in any way’
What is known, however, is that in February Caesars and DraftKings reached an agreement to form a multi-state gaming partnership.
Right now DraftKings which, along with FanDuel, dominates the New Jersey sportsbook market, is only operational in the Garden State.
The new deal will see it obtain access to all other states where sportsbooks are legal and Caesars Casinos are operational.
Caesars, in turn, will serve as DraftKings’ official Casino partners without any restriction on which gaming products it wishes to offer.
FOX Sports not part of Disney-21st Century Fox deal
FOX Sports was not part of the 21st Century Fox-Disney deal. It had been detached earlier. It was, therefore, able to join hands with the rival Stars Group at about the same time as the Disney-DraftKings deal.
The Star Group operates casinos and online sportsbooks globally, among them BetStars in New Jersey. The deal will enable Fox Sports to establish a licensed online sportsbook called FOX Bet.
It will have the right to operate wherever sports betting is legal and can be licensed in the USA. Expect New Jersey to be the seat of one of its first launches.
Outside of old-hand Nevada, none of the other states where sportsbooks are legal can compare with New Jersey. Not so in monthly handle, nor so in the way the industry is regulated.
Its 14 sportsbooks brought in a total of well over $2 billion in its first 12 months of legal betting. DraftKings along with market leader FanDuel were its major sources of betting handle.
FOX Sports is now part of Fox Corporation along with FOX News and the FOX Network. It paid $236 million for its near 5 percent stake in The Star Group.
