Fubo announced last month that it was shutting down operations of its owned-and-operated Fubo Sportsbook "effective immediately."
Fast forward to Fubo's Q3 earnings call last week, however, and the sputtering sportsbook still has a pulse, as this decision is under review.
Fubo CEO David Gandler and executive chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. addressed the online betting site in a letter to shareholders, which backtracked on their recent exit from the legal sports betting industry.
"Our decision to close the Fubo Gaming business and cease operation of our owned-and-operated Fubo Sportsbook was made in support of our profitability goals," said the letter. "But, as we continue to focus on data and interactivity to differentiate our virtual MVPD, we still believe the integration of gaming and live sports streaming is powerful.
"As a result, we are exploring ways to optimize our user base in the gaming space without investing our own funds."
It seems that Fubo is still looking for a partner for its sportsbook, which it has been in search of for months now, with the main reason obviously being money.
Fubo’s Q3 earnings show that the company is still growing its revenue, as it made $219 million in North America — a 40% year-over-year increase. However, its operating expenses also rose by 44%, meaning Fubo is still burning through cash.
Tough landscape
The legal sports betting market is filled with brands (such as DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and BetMGM) that have massive marketing budgets but, unlike Fubo, own a sizable percentage of the national market share.
Fubo operated only in Arizona, Iowa, and, most recently, New Jersey.
Both Arizona and Iowa paint identical pictures of the struggles Fubo has been having: in their most recent monthly reports, both states had 18 operators and Fubo’s handle in both markets was just 0.1% of the total amount wagered. In Iowa, it paid out more money than it took in.
In looking at Q4, Fubo expects to grow its revenue by 22% year over year, although it will be EBITDA negative.
