Fubo Gaming Receives Approval in Iowa: Sports Betting Integration Taken to Another Level

Fubo Gaming is revolutionizing the sports industry by taking the integration of sports betting and live streaming to another level. Fubo Gaming plans to introduce Fubo Sportsbook which will sync with its live-streaming offerings through fuboTV. Fubo Gaming has now received approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to offer online sports betting in Iowa through a market access agreement with Casino Queen.

Iowa represents the fourth market Fubo Gaming has received market access in, joining Arizona in partnership with the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Pennsylvania in partnership with the Cordish Companies, and Indiana and New Jersey with Caesars Entertainment Inc.

Fubo Gaming

Fubo Sportsbook is on track to go live in select states sometime during the fourth quarter of 2021. fuboTV initially acquired Vigtory, a sports betting and interactive gaming company, in January 2021 to accelerate its sports betting offerings. Fubo Sportsbook will be designed to sync with whatever game its users are streaming on fuboTV. Fubo Gaming is planning to present the first full integration of sports wagering and live streaming in the industry.

Fubo Gaming is also planning on offering a number of other interactive features. Fubo’s FanView will allow users to monitor stats and other games as well as play free games with big cash prizes all in one convenient app. This is the first time a company has integrated live streaming, free games, and live stats all in the same platform.

Fubo’s International Soccer Test Run

FuboTV tested its FanView offerings during the CONMEBOL matches in June 2021, and subscribers who engaged in this featuere were much more engaged. Subscribers who engaged with FanView watched fuboTV for up to 37% more minutes than those who did not engage. This test run showcased the strong potential for sports betting to influence the consumer decision-making of subscribers. The success here should be taken note of by other media companies such as ESPN, who is reportedly considering diving into the sports betting industry.

Fubo is launching its FanView live stats and free-to-play games in time for the World Cup 2022 Qualifying Matches which begin on September 2. FuboTV has exclusive streaming rights to CONMEBOL, the continental governing body of soccer in South America, through March 2022. These upcoming soccer matches will provide further opportunities for Fubo Gaming to test its new products and glean insights for the upcoming launch of Fubo Sportsbook.

Implications for Other Companies

Fubo Gaming is also looking to take advantage of the growing trend of cord-cutting and increase in live streaming options. Per TBI Vision, there are expected to be almost 1.5 billion Streaming Video On Demand (SVOD) subscriptions worldwide by 2026 and Globe News Wire reported the live streaming market is expected to be worth almost $250 billion by 2027 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28.1%.

As sports betting continues to grow in popularity and becomes more mainstream, its consumer audience will continue to grow and provide for more business opportunities. Scott Butera, president of Fubo Gaming, spoke to his belief that this integration will bring “increased interaction and engagement between sports viewing and betting.” That consumer audience will primarily be engaging in sports viewership through live streaming, so other live streaming subscribtion providers such as ESPN+ could follow in Fubo’s footsteps.

Fubo Gaming’s large-scale integration of sports betting and live streaming is going to shake up the industry in major ways. Other sportsbooks and media companies should take note, as this type of integration could quickly become the norm rather than the exception in the industry.