The Score Sports Betting

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5. Rogers Sportsnet
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7. The Score Sports Channel

It was inevitable that a media company would get involved on the operator side the nascent US sports betting industry. It was always a matter of “when,” not “if.”

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Now we know the “whom.” Sports media company, theScore Inc., announced today that it would launch a New Jersey sports betting app sometime next year.

“This is a transformational moment for theScore, becoming the first media company in North America to announce its plans to launch online and mobile sports betting in the United States,” said John Levy, founder and CEO of theScore.

“Sports betting has long been part of our company DNA in how we’ve delivered content to fans. Providing the ability to actually bet on games is the natural next phase for theScore.”

More on theScore and NJ sports betting

TheScore is a publicly traded media company that offers sports scores and news through its app and websites. The plan to get into sports betting for a media company on the operator side makes a lot of sense considering the reach of content and magnitude of theScore.

TheScore is getting into NJ sports betting thanks to a couple of partnerships:

• Its land-based sports betting partner, Monmouth Park Racetrack, has terms set forth of up to 15 years, consisting of an initial term of five years, which is extendable for two successive five-year terms at the option of theScore.
• TheScore is working with startup Bet.Works to provide a sports betting platform and managed services. That deal was termed as an “exclusive nationwide multiyear agreement.”

The sports betting app must be approved by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement. TheScore anticipates a launch in mid-2019.

TheScore has been hinting at its sports betting aspirations

While it wasn’t entirely clear how theScore would make its sports betting entry, it’s not a shocking endeavor for the company.

The company announced this summer that it landed iGaming veteran David Wang as a senior advisor. Wang is also the CEO and founder of Bet.Works and has worked on online gaming and sports betting as a senior executive for both US gaming giants MGM Resorts and more recently Wynn Resorts, where he led the launch of both mobile sports betting businesses.

That move evidently presaged today’s announcement, as did Levy talking after theScore’s third-quarter financials:

“This quarter also saw the legalization of sports betting in the United States, which presents an exciting opportunity for us. The state-by-state roll-out of this, and the different models being explored within each individual state, means the US sports betting landscape remains a fluid one.

TheScore is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity thanks to our mobile sports expertise, combined with our large and highly engaged audience.”

And while the entry point is in NJ, the company has designs on getting into other states. Those plans remain unknown, but rumors point to more states to follow in short order, says one industry insider with knowledge of the roll out into the US.

The potential sports betting reach of theScore

TheScore boasts more than 4 million active users for its sports app, and a database larger than that that could be activated for sports betting purposes, once states start going live.

Other interesting stats about theScore:

• Reached 50 million sports fans on their social and emerging platforms in the third quarter.
• Sent out 1.5 billion sports-related alerts out to users each month. (TheScore even includes whether a team is currently covering the spread in its scoring updates.)
• Has 1 million Instagram follows and 3.4 million Facebook followers.

DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook have done well in the early days of the NJ sports betting part because of their existing databases of users and their brand recognition. The two companies combined for two-thirds of all sports gambling revenue in the state in November.

However, theScore represents a serious challenge to the incumbents due to its loyal, dedicated user base.

The Score Sports Channel Canada

TheScore users and engagements indeed surpass those of the two daily-fantasy-sports-turned-sports-betting operators. The hope is that it can quickly do well in the NJ market and others, if and when they enter new states.

Thescore Sports Betting

Beyond NJ, online sports betting is only legal in Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Online betting launches are still pending in the latter two states.

More on Bet.Works

If you haven’t heard of Bet.Works before now, you’re probably not alone as it’s not yet active as a platform, and its website is just a landing page.

“Bet.Works has secured some of the most prominent executives in the sports betting industry with a blue-chip investor group,” a source familiar with the company and the deal told Legal Sports Report. “Various investors have tried to jump in, but the company is extremely selective and oversubscribed.”

The leading sportsbook suppliers have courted theScore in the industry and it chose Bet.Works based on the performance demonstrated by the enterprise product and US-based management team, the source said.

In a way, sports betting has run through the veins of theScore since its genesis.

So it seems appropriate for the Toronto-based media company to become a sports betting provider.

On Tuesday, theScore announced it had partnered with New Jersey racetrack Monmouth Park and with technology provider Bet.Works.

As a result, theScore has set itself up to join an ever-expanding NJ sports betting market with a target launch of mid-2019.

“Even before PASPA was repealed, there was a lot of discussion internally about what the right way in that environment would be for us to take the next step,” Benjie Levy, COO of theScore, said in a phone interview.

“Lots of media companies talk about becoming affiliates. There’s other types of partnerships you can look at. … When we were assessing those options and looking at what the best role was for our user base in that context, any time we looked at anything short of becoming an operator seemed like it was less fulfilling of an opportunity. Like we’d be leaving something on the table.”

Merging media with sports betting business

Before the internet transformed the way in which the world disseminates information, theScore was around.

Though its mobile app debuted in 2007, theScore was once a cable network in Canada.

A bottom-of-the-screen ticker scrolled scores even during commercials. Oldies music serenaded viewers of the channel, then known as Headline Sports.

Since then, theScore, which sold its TV network to Rogers Communications, has become a go-to source for sports information. For the past 10 years, theScore has gained traction in the US, where, according to Levy, two-thirds of the company’s users live.

Now, theScore is taking its next step, a “natural next phase,” according to a statement from company founder and CEO John Levy, Benjie’s father.

“This is a transformational moment for theScore, becoming the first media company in North America to announce its plans to launch online and mobile sports betting in the United States.”

“Gaming’s always been part of our DNA,” Benjie Levy said. “Our view is that gambling is just another part of the sports experience.”

Fan engagement tops all else

A company that provides sports scores and news via its mobile app and website, theScore began considering entering the sports betting space since before PASPAwas repealed in May.

Internal conversations ramped up over the summer, leading to theScore bringing in David Wang, an iGaming veteran formerly with Wynn Resorts and MGM, as a senior advisor in August.

Interestingly, Wang also serves as the CEO and founder of Bet.Works. With Wang, theScore began exploring “opportunities in sports betting,” according to John Levy.

During the past few months, theScore started building the pillars of becoming a sports betting operator. And on Tuesday, the company announced its partnerships: Monmouth Park (which also boasts William Hill NJ as a partner) and Bet.Works.

Media + sports betting

When theScore does roll out its product, which will be featured in a sportsbook app as well as a browser, it will tap into its standing as a media provider integrating sports betting rather than the other way around.

That, Benjie Levy said, will help theScore stand out from the crowd.

“When we look at what’s going on in the sports betting business today … with betting increasingly happening on mobile and in-game, you see the operators all working their tails off to try to increase the amount of engagement that happens on those platforms. They’re adding live data. They’re trying to add live video. They’re trying to create a sports engagement experience on the betting platform to try to keep users there longer and stimulate more betting.

“Our view is entirely to flip that situation on its head. We have the platform where it’s natural for users to engage around sports, to consume the content and chat with their friends while the game is going on and before and after. We think that moving the transactional element closer to the engagement is a much more natural experience than trying to recreate an engagement environment on a fundamentally transactional platform.

“Because of that, any option short of becoming an operator ourselves wouldn’t give us the latitude to execute that that was fulfilling. Not fulfilling just to us but to our users, who we put out in front of all of this.”

Joining NJ sports betting late not a worry

Certainly, the NJ sports betting industry has ballooned since going live in June.

Last month, the fourth month of available online wagering, saw mobile products account for 72 percent of an unprecedented $330 million in handle.

DraftKings Sportsbookand FanDuel Sportsbook, once primarily focused on daily fantasy sports, have emerged as heavy hitters. And of course, there are European bookmakers such as William Hill and BetStars NJ.

Yet John Levy is not concerned about entering the industry late. For the reasons detailed above by his son.

“The other guys should be worried about that,” the company’s founder said. “We’re not in the least worried about that. I’m not trying to sound arrogant. We have a pretty solid user base in New Jersey already in our app. That’s true for users across the US.”

‘We know our users’

More than 4 million active users utilize theScore’s app, which the Levys said is the second-most popular in North America. The company also reached 50 million sports fans on its social and emerging platforms in the third quarter.

“We know our users have a high propensity to gamble,” Levy continued. “We did our own surveying, we see it in the behavior patterns of users in the app. Our theory is simple: We’re doing all the hard stuff. We’re giving them all the data, all the information, we’re pushing all this stuff out to them. It’s a very personal experience, and they’re going elsewhere to place wagers.

“Our whole philosophy is not to push anyone to do anything. That’s not our style. We’re going to make (sports betting) available. … We honestly think we have the opportunity in this space to go up against the biggest or the smallest … to really be the predominant brand in the sports betting business in New Jersey. Because of the trusted relationship and the relationship we have with our users.”

Added Benjie Levy:

“We don’t shy away from anyone. Our offering is going to be as competitive with anyone in the marketplace, both in terms of core sportsbook offerings and in terms of innovation we’re going to bring to the marketplace. … We think there’s really, across the board, areas for us to differentiate.”

New Jersey first, then …

Soccer Kladionica

The Levys continue emphasizing the importance of user engagement and enjoyment.

“All we care about,” John Levy said, “is providing the users with the best experience they can have in sports.”

Sports betting, he added, “is just one particular aspect of why people love sports.” Because of that loyalty, he noted, theScore could gain “the inside edge to penetrate the market effectively and at a significantly reduced cost” compared to competitors.

A team of engineers — actually, theScore’s whole team, John Levy said — is focused on meeting the company’s timeline of a mid-2019 launch of its NJ sports betting app.

It seems like the perfect time, he said.

The Score Sports Betting

When will theScore launch in NJ?

Depending on actual activation, theScore’s sportsbook could begin at the tail end of the NBA season, during the dog days of MLB summer, and be honed by NFL and college football kickoff.

Rogers Sportsnet

While theScore is focused on getting off the ground in New Jersey, by no means does it have tunnel vision.

Soccer Bet

“Our users are in every state,” John Levy said. “This was never thought to be just a one-state solution. Our brand is recognized across the country. And yes, New Jersey happens to be the first (entry point for theScore) and it’s a great one to start in. … Obviously I think we’re going to be able to shine there. But clearly our intention is to roll this out across the country depending on how states open up and how they deal with it.”

Added Benjie:

The Score Sports Channel

“Our intent is not to get into it as one-state operator. We’re ready to consider and engage other opportunities in other states. … We’re actively engaging now.”