Fox could shake up the sports betting sector with the activation of its FanDuel stake

A new player could be joining the sports betting industry in the near future, and that is Fox Corporation.NASDAQ: FOX) Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said the media giant is moving forward with plans to exercise its option to retain an 18.6% stake in sports betting. FanDuel Leader.

In an appearance at the Goldman Sachs Connect and Technology conference on Tuesday, Murdoch said Flutter Entertainment (New York Stock Exchange: FloodFanDuel is valued at about $35 billion, meaning Fox’s potential stake would be worth about $6.5 billion on the open market compared to the $4.3 billion Fox estimated it would need to distribute to activate the stake originally secured through the company’s ownership in The Stars Group.

A potential hurdle for Fox in securing the FanDuel stake is the need to obtain a gaming operator license. Murdoch said the company is actively working with state lawmakers on that. “We’re not going to leave $2 billion on the table,” he said.

The development could have wide-ranging implications for the sports betting sector after Fox (FOX) and Flutter (FLUT) already agreed last year to shutter Sports betting platform Fox Bet. Analysts have highlighted that Fox (FOX) and FanDuel could generate significant synergies if the relationship improves. FanDuel already has a leading market share in the United States over DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG), BetMGM (MGM) (OTCPK:GMVHF), and Caesars Sportsbook (CZR).