Television streaming company FuboTV is launching a sports gambling division that will be headquartered in Chicago, and it plans to hire over 100 employees in the next three months.
FuboTV, a live TV streaming service that launched in 2015 and went public in 2020, is launching its new Fubo Gaming subsidiary in Chicago in the fourth quarter of this year. The company first announced the launch of Fubo Gaming in January after acquiring Chicago startup Vigtory, a sports betting company.
The Vigtory acquisition will allow FuboTV to launch its own sportsbook, putting it in direct competition with DraftKings, FanDuel, Barstool and other online sports betting operators. The entire 15-person Vigtory team has joined FuboTV, and co-CEOs Sam Rattner and Scott Butera have joined Fubo Gaming as chief operating officer and president, respectively.
Rattner, who founded Vigtory in 2019, said the company plans to hire over 100 employees in Chicago in the next 60 to 90 days, including over 60 engineers. The company recently signed a roughly 30,000 square-foot lease at 1 N. Dearborn St. in the Loop, Rattner said.
"It's a massive initiative for the company. We’re very excited for Chicago," Rattner said. "We live in an incredible sports city ... but we really don't have that many companies in sports media and entertainment."
FuboTV's standalone sports betting app will look to stand out by incorporating live streaming, Rattner said, allowing users to watch and bet from the same platform. The company is also developing a loyalty feature that allows users to earn rewards towards things like sports merchandise and tickets to live games. Fubo can also provide gamblers with other perks not found in traditional bettings apps, such as subscriptions to NFL Red Zone or NBA TV.
Fubo Gaming expects to be live in several states by the time its app launches later this year.
Based in New York, FuboTV is a streaming alternative to cable TV that offers more than 100 live TV channels across sports, news and entertainment. The company went public in October.
"It's a really exciting time for Fubo," Rattner said. "We're a growing company in two really hot spaces, streaming and gambling ... We’re building some really innovative things for sports fans."
