The online sports betting offshoot of streaming service DAZN has soft-launched a beta platform in the United Kingdom in a bid to gather insight into what subscribers want, with the potential for a rollout in additional markets in the future.
DAZN Bet is part of DAZN's ambitious plan to create a more entertainment-oriented, "recreational" sports wagering experience for fans who tend to be casual rather than dedicated bettors.
"The initial launch of DAZN Bet is the start of an exciting journey across media and sports betting and further delivers on commitments we have made to revitalize sports viewing for fans,” said Mark Kemp, CEO of DAZN Bet, in a press release.
“We are on a mission to create a richer entertainment product that over time is integrated into DAZN’s daily destination sports business, where possible. Whilst this market entry will be a learning phase, our goal is to provide sports fans with a fantastic recreational sports betting product for DAZN’s global sports fans community."
“It is a journey, and we begin it now,” Kemp concluded.
New CEO leading the charge
DAZN Bet is the wagering brand of its British media parent, DAZN (pronounced da-zone), a live and non-live sports streaming and entertainment service that is present in over 200 regulated markets. The beta platform will give DAZN Bet access to millions of U.K. customers and gauge their level of interest in various wagering options that are expected to be tested via the app.
DAZN Bet was created in April of this year via a joint venture with betting and gaming supplier Pragmatic Solutions. The U.K. test launch of the beta product marks the first phase in DAZN's attempt to occupy a niche position as an interactive sportsbook in the highly competitive online sports betting market.
Furthermore, Monday’s press release noted that there are plans to launch DAZN Bet in other European markets, as well as in the regulated framework for online casino gaming and sports betting in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.
“Soon, DAZN customers will be able to not only watch live and on-demand sport, but listen to and read about sport, enjoy betting, buy sporting NFTs, tickets, and merchandise,” the release added.
The company's foray into mobile wagering follows its hiring of Shay Segev as co-CEO last year, before appointing him as sole CEO in January. The Israeli-born Segev had previously served as CEO at Entain for five years and he brought along with him two prominent former Entain lieutenants in Ian Turnbull, executive VP for betting and gaming, and Sandeep Tiku, chief technology officer.
"The convergence of sports media and betting is the future," Segev said in an April release announcing the launch of DAZN Bet. "This historic partnership brings together the leading sports media company and a technology partner who is committed to developing innovative experiences for fans. It underscores DAZN’s commitment to revitalize the sports viewing experience by offering a broader spectrum of digital entertainment for fans."
A billionaire backer
DAZN is hoping to gain market traction via its estimated 15 million subscribers worldwide as the sports-streamer struggles to reach profitability, having reportedly cost its Ukraine-born owner, Sir Leonard Blavatnik, approximately 5 billion pounds in losses since the company began buying up valuable sports broadcasting rights.
Soon after DAZN launched in Germany and other European territories in 2016, the sports streamer bought the rights to broadcast 106 regular season Bundesliga games per season, as well as Champions League matches in Germany. In addition, it scooped up Serie A broadcast rights in Italy and La Liga matches in Spain, shutting out competitor Sky Sports in the process.
"In all three markets, DAZN moved in when the biggest player stepped back," François Godard of Enders Analysis told The Times. "They moved in without creating inflation in prices — they didn’t throw money at it. But it doesn’t mean there’s an obvious path to profitability."
DAZN incurred a $1.3 billion pre-tax loss in 2020 (the latest year for which figures are available) prompting Blavatnik (whose personal fortune is estimated at £20 billion) to inject an additional $1.1 billion into his company.
And in February of this year, Access Industries, Blavatnik's privately-owned industrial, telecommunications, and real estate conglomerate, bought out $4.3 billion in loans that DAZN had accumulated, leaving the company debt-free, a prescient move given the sharp rise in interest rates this summer.
Time to regroup
Earlier this year, DAZN's attempt to dominate the British football streaming market was dealt a blow with its failed takeover bid for BT Sport (a subsidiary of BT Group), the U.K. rights-holder for the Premier League and Champions League. The attempted acquisition was thwarted when Warner Bros. Discovery reached a deal with BT to merge BT Sport with Warner's Eurosport U.K.
This failure exposes the importance of the DAZN Bet platform to DAZN's overall corporate growth plans of consolidating its "position as the one-stop shop platform providing everything the global sports fan wants."
In July, following the BT misadventure, Segev stated that DAZN was actively pursuing new interactive viewing and betting experiences for customers as part of the drive to bring DAZN into the black after years of mounting losses.
"[My aim] is to make this business sustainable and profitable in the next 12 to 18 months," Segev told the Financial Times. "Streaming is clearly a fundamental part of our business…but we are much broader than that."
