Another media giant is making a sports betting play. Global sports streaming platform DAZN is hiring a VP of product for betting and gaming, per a job description posted this week.
Within that job description, DAZN said it is planning to build “a world class betting proposition.”
The language of the description suggests the company plans to launch its own sportsbook. For example:
“As the VP of this team, you’ll be responsible for the entire user journey flows from discovery to bet conversion.”
DAZN did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Inside DAZN’s big plans for betting
The description read:
“DAZN has been changing how the world consumes sports for the past five years and we are now embarking on an exciting new stage of our journey.
“As our VP of Product […..] your goal will be to capitalise on the unique opportunity that DAZN has right now: to establish a truly world class betting proposition alongside premier sports rights in some of the most exciting markets in the world.”
The company also hired Ian Turnbull as EVP of betting and gaming earlier this month. Turnbull previously held gaming roles at Entain and Amazon Web Services.
A player in US sports betting?
DAZN did not respond to questions about its target markets or technology plans.
The role would be based in London, though US sports betting is presumably a target given its value and DAZN’s presence in the US.
The streaming site is a potentially big player in sports betting, with 15 million subscribers worldwide per the BBC.
In the US, the company is best-known for its combat sports content portfolio. It arguably has a stronger rights portfolio in markets like Italy and Germany.
Hiding in plain sight
The pivot to gambling is not entirely out of the blue. DAZN hired gambling exec Shay Segev as its co-CEO earlier this year.
And fellow co-CEO James Rushton told the BBC in August that DAZN would boost revenues by expanding to “things like wagering, betting, fantasy and commerce.”
The company is currently loss-making, having spent billions on global sports rights.
Indeed, the pivot to sports betting is reminiscent of another streaming company: FuboTV.
Fubo blazing a trail for DAZN?
Fubo acquired a sportsbook platform last year and aims to launch its first Fubo Sportsbook by the end of the year.
As one example of the potential streaming/betting integration, Fubo recently unveiled a ‘Live Sync’ function. Essentially the sports betting app is linked to a Fubo streaming account, meaning the app will display markets for whatever the user is watching.
However, some experts have questioned the practicalities of embedding a sportsbook within a streaming platform.
DAZN has gambling roots
DAZN also has some gambling roots of its own. It used to be part of the same company as Perform, a key data provider for sportsbooks.
Perform was sold to STATS back in 2019 so DAZN could focus on streaming.
However, before that in 2017, the combined group launched a short-lived UK online sportsbook called DabbleBet. The product lasted around 18 months before being closed.
