Fubo Sportsbook Now Fully Live in New Jersey, But Are They Too Late?

For those wondering if any new NJ sports betting apps are launching this NFL season, the answer is yes. Fubo Sportsbook is now live in New Jersey via a land-based partnership with Caesars Entertainment.

After receiving a transactional waiver from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Fubo Sportsbook NJ began its required soft launch period in mid-August. During the requisite testing period, bets were only accepted from a controlled group of NJ bettors in limited operating hours.

Now that the new betting site meets all regulatory and technical requirements, Fubo Sportsbook is fully operational in NJ in time for the 2022 regular NFL season.

If the Fubo name sounds familiar it’s because we’re talking about the same company behind fuboTV, the sports-focused live TV streaming service. As a result, Fubo Sportsbook markets itself as “the most personalized sports betting experience.”

Time will tell if the “watch, wager an win” marketing approach will catch on with NJ sports bettors. Scott Butera, president, Fubo Gaming, said the company considers launching in  NJ “an important early step in the development of our integrated platform, which includes a recently improved user experience and enhanced product capabilities.”

 “As one of the largest and most established sports betting markets in the U.S., New Jersey will allow Fubo to analyze and efficiently develop the most engaging product features that are focused on driving streaming customers into wagering,” Butera said.

How Fubo Sportsbook gained New Jersey market access

Some might recall Fubo’s Sportsbook path into New Jersey comes via Vigtory Sportsbook. Back in early 2021, fuboTV announced an agreement to acquire Vigtory.

So Fubo moved forward with the idea of offering sports gamblers a product that was different from what market leaders like FanDuel and DraftKings were offering. Back when the Fubo-Vigtory deal was announced, David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of fuboTV said:

“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 monetization, better subscriber retention, and reduced subscriber acquisition costs.”

Fast-forward to today, and Fubo Sportsbook is only live in two other states – Iowa and Arizona.

Fubo Sportsbook app in New Jersey

The sportsbook app and desktop client itself has very few bells and whistles (at least during soft launch), a basic clean layout similar to other books in the market.

You’ll find markets for the most popular sports, which includes live betting and parlays.

For NFL, you can choose between games (starting for Week 1) and an extensive list of futures bets.

Fubo joins mature, booming NJ sports betting market but are they too late?

As far as finally launching in the Garden State goes, there are two ways of viewing it.

One is the Garden State sports betting market is one of the biggest there is with more than $6.3 billion in wagers place through the first seven months of this year. And year-to-date sports betting revenue is at $353.2 million and counting.

The flip-side is Fubo and any other sportsbook companies that follow are too late. The Garden State is starting its fifth season of NFL betting. This means many sports bettors have established accounts with other brands that have been around since years one and two. And likely have some or most of their sports betting bankrolls locked up with those companies.

Many of them like Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM have rewards programs that can be cashed in at their favorite Atlantic City casino. The only connection Fubo Sportsbook has to Caesars is their market access deal.

So fighting even for a 1% market share of the NJ sports betting business will be an uphill battle.

What about Fubo’s ‘strategic review’ of its sports betting business?

So looking at the bigger picture, does Fubo Sportsbook have what it takes to be a long-term survivor in the sports betting game? At the moment, the answer isn’t clear.

The topic is one of many addressed in the Aug. 4 letter to shareholders. The company continues to “believe that an integrated wagering platform, offering both live video and a sportsbook will result in the best viewing and gaming experience for consumers.”

But there is a possibility the current business model could change. Here is another snippet from the letter:

“However, as we have evaluated how best to scale these capabilities in today’s market, we have concluded that we will no longer pursue this opportunity on our own. Accordingly, our interactive wagering business is under strategic review. We are in internal and external discussions to determine the best path forward for Fubo’s gaming business and look forward to sharing more information.”

This leaves the door open to several possibilities including a potential sale. For now, there is nothing concrete to report other than Fubo Sportsbook is available for download in the Garden State.