Fubo Sportsbook Closes NJ Sports Betting Business Weeks After Debut

Just like that, Fubo Sportsbook’s days as a NJ sports betting app are finished. Yes, this is the same Fubo product that launched under the Harrah’s Atlantic City license last month.

The company is throwing in the towel a little more than a month following its Garden State launch. Parent company FuboTV Inc. shared the official announcement as part of its preliminary Q3 2022 results:

“We have made the difficult decision to exit the online sports wagering business effective immediately.”

And when Fubo says “effective immediately,” they mean no more bets. If you open the app today, you’ll notice a blank screen under NFL odds.

Here is a closer look at why Fubo is ceasing sports betting operations and why the move will have little to no impact on Garden State bettors.

Short-lived Fubo Sportsbook NJ sports betting story

The reality is Fubo Sportsbook was a late entrant into the NJ sports betting game with a full launch coming as the 2022 NFL betting season was getting underway.

Remember, the New Jersey mobile market launched during the summer of 2018. So fighting for market share in a mature market is an extremely challenging task especially when going up against the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars and others.

And it’s not like NJ gamblers are not placing bets. For September alone, NJ sportsbooks reported a monthly handle of nearly $870 million. Monthly revenue came in at $98 million.

However, if we break down and look specifically at the Harrah’s mobile sports betting results, the total revenue was only $71,885. Keep in mind this is the combined total for the Fubo Sportsbook and Prophet Exchange brands, both of which are were new to the market. New Jersey only reports results by license holder.

Prior to Fubo’s August soft launch, there were questions as to whether or not the brand would make the cut as the company was going through a strategic review of its gaming product.

So instead of hanging around to see if business improves, Fubo Sportbook is going with a watch from the sidelines approach. NJ gamblers looking for odds for this week’s New York Giants vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game will find a blank screen.

The bottomline is staying in the sports betting game no longer made sense for Fubo as a company. David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, FuboTV, explains why:

“Following our previously announced strategic review, we have concluded that continuing with Fubo Gaming and Fubo Sportsbook in this challenging macroeconomic environment would impact our ability to reach our longer term profitability goals.”

The company is expected to provide more details during its Nov. 4 earnings call. One of the unanswered questions is how do gamblers get their money back.

Fubo Sportsbook, we barely knew you

Unlike others with strong brand recognition and big advertising budgets, Fubo has been more like a silent player, as in not saying much.

Even their Twitter handle is even gone.  At the time the decision was made, Fubo was only live in three markets. Arizona and Iowa were the others.

Obviously, the New York Jets partnership deal is finished as well. Clearly, Fubo Sportsbook wasn’t around long enough to establish a NJ player database. Many gamblers likely didn’t even know the app was available for download.

Say farewell to another NJ online sportsbook brand

Fubo Sportsbook is just the latest brand to exit the legalized US sports betting world.

And they likely will not be the last.

Over the last 12 months alone, Fubo is the fifth company to exit the Garden State.

888 Sport, which was was one of the original apps to launch in 2018, stopped taking bets to make way for the rebranded SI Sportsbook. Play NJ  does not have any updates regarding when the relaunch will take place.

In February, Resorts Sportsbook halted operations and teased a “set to sign deal that will allow an exciting sports betting brand, new to the USA,” announcement. Eight months later, there is still no word who the replacement is.

The ScoreBet departed the American market once sports betting launched in Ontario, Canada. The company is based out of Toronto. And the move made sense after being purchased by Penn Entertainment (formerly Penn National Gaming) – the same company that owns the much more popular and successful Barstool Sportsbook.

TwinSpires shut down as parent company Churchill Downs decided to exit the online gaming business. And this came after rebranding from BetAmerica to TwinSpires.

However, out of all these names, Fubo was around the shortest amount of time.