Toronto-based sports media company The Score made headlines earlier this year when they announced that they had negotiated a digital-only license for sports betting in New Jersey. This week, with a successful launch in the Garden State under their belt, the company introduced the first of what they claim will be many innovations in the sports betting industry with Fuse, a piece of technology that they call “the ultimate integration between sports content and betting.
Always a betting brand
The Score was at one point a television network in Canada that focused primarily on statistics, making it a dream for both fantasy sports lovers and sports bettors. While the company never implicitly promoted sports betting, the amount of information it gave viewers and the constant listing of the odds in their ticker made it evident that sports betting was in their blood. CEO John Levy fully admits that he has a love for gambling and that this foray into sports betting fulfills a long-time desire to be a more significant part of the action.
After selling the network, The Score continued to focus on its sports content app, growing it to be one of the largest sources of sports information in North America. It seemed like only a matter of time after the repeal of PASPA in May 2018 that the company would make their move into sports betting, and a partnership with Monmouth Park Racetrack was one that would change everything for the company.
Bridging the gap
The Score media app is bursting with information both about betting and about the games in progress on a daily basis. However, as it is an app that is open and available to anyone on the planet, the company had to build out a separate sports betting app for their TheScore.Bet offering. Partnering with Bet.Works, the app was ready for launch in September 2019.
Having two different apps, even with the same branding, results in a leap that a user has to take to move from the information site to make the bet itself. With the amount of time and resources The Score put into building their database of users, there needed to be a better solution to ensure that their loyal users would also be faithful to the sports betting brand.
Enter the Fuse.
“We’ve created an unparalleled cross-platform media and betting experience, getting sports fans into the action faster than ever,” Levy said in the announcement. “Our goal is to continue to surpass sports fans’ expectations while leading the way for media in the sports betting industry. And, with Fuse, we’re only getting started.”
How does it work?
Fuse is integrated into the media app as well as the betting app, and the easiest way to describe it is as a ticket builder product. Users of the media app who have the betting functionality turned on (optional) can take the odds they see on the app and start to build bet slips. Then, with the touch of a button, these slips are transported into the betting app, where players can then make their wagers.
Of course, this is only available in states where the TheScore.bet is available, which is currently only in New Jersey.
Exciting times ahead
This is just another feather in the cap of Levy and his company. The Score’s deal with Monmouth was the first of its kind – a sports media company entering the betting business. Subsequently, deals have been made by other media agencies highlighted by Fox’s partnership with The Stars Group.
New Jersey is just the tip of the iceberg for The Score. The company scored a significant victory by being part of the deal Penn National Gaming put together with several gaming companies for their properties across 19 states. As part of that deal, The Score will be able to launch its betting brand in 11 states. How quickly they can get each off the ground will be a factor of resources and legislation as some of the properties are in states where sports betting is not yet legal. The company also announced plans to investigate licensing in states like Colorado that have favorable digital-only licensing options.
Levy is bullish about the company’s future in sports betting, and given his love of the betting industry as a whole, we think his company is a good one to back.