Fulfilling the prophesy of its more bullish supporters, the company that now controls the most polarizing OTT stock on Wall Street, fuboTV, saw its share price spike back up 17% on the Nasdaq Tuesday morning following the purchase of sports betting firm Vigtory for an undisclosed sum.
Vigtory Sportsbook was founded in 2019 by Sam Rattner, a fast-rising Chicago-area internet entrepreneur who was, just five short years ago, a reserve forward for the Vernon Hills High School varsity basketball team.
Rattner previously founded Engine Sports, a back-testing engine allowing retail sports bettors the ability to build algorithmic betting strategies within an interactive experience. Scott Butera, who was the president of interactive gaming at MGM Resorts International and was instrumental in launching BetMGM, joined Vigtory as Rattner’s co-CEO in 2020.
FuboTV also announced that following its December acquisition of Balto Sports and its content automation software, the company plans to launch a free-to-play "gaming experience" this summer.
Meanwhile, a full-fledged sportsbook app, fuboTV added, will come by the end of the year, enabling betters see current betting lines, place a variety of wagers and cash in their winnings. FuboTV expects to integrate the sportsbook into fuboTV’s live TV streaming platform.
“We believe online sports wagering is a highly complementary business to our sports-first live TV streaming platform,” said David Gandler, co-founder and chief executive officer of fuboTV, in a statement. “We don’t see wagering as simply an add-on product to fuboTV. Instead, we believe there is a real flywheel opportunity with streaming video content and interactivity.
Also read: FuboTV’s Wild Holiday Bender: Stock Comes Crashing Back to Earth After Spiking to $62
Shares of fuboTV spiked to a high of $62 on Dec. 23, fueled by Needham analyst Laura Martin's issuance of a “buy” rating at $60. Martin is among a cadre of fuboTV bulls who see the vMVPD company blending other elements, such as its 24/7 "Cheddar-ish" sports channel, the Fubo Sports Network, to create an online sports betting powerhouse.
Last week, however, the stock bottomed out, after LightShed Partners analyst Richard Greenfield’s scathing note, informing investors that fuboTV was simply a company in company in the low-margin, ultra-competitive virtual MVPD market. The bearish Greenfield said there is "no special sauce" for fuboTV.
FuboTV shares were up nearly 17% Tuesday to $31.
