FuboTV now integrates gambling into live sporting events

Alex Castro/The Verge

FuboTV will soon let you place bets on live sports. Some users will get to make wagers using real cash, while everyone can participate in free contests.

Starting June 19th, all FuboTV users will be able to predict the outcome of live games. Before select games start, users will be able to choose which team they think will win. This will earn them points — not actual cash — that’ll give them a place on a leaderboard, letting them compete against friends and other FuboTV users. FuboTV calls this game Perfect Pick’ems and says it plans on launching other competitions in the future.

But users in Iowa and Arizona can place bets on winning teams for real cash. If a user thinks they chose the winning pick, they can scan a QR code that appears on FuboTV’s platform. This will redirect them to Fubo Sportsbook (FuboTV’s betting app) to place a cash-based bet. FuboTV previously let users place bets through its Sportsbook app as live games progressed, but betting was never integrated into the streaming service’s TV interface.

“Our mission is to transform the TV experience through interactive engagement, including free gaming and real-money wagering, into streaming video,” David Gandler, the co-founder and CEO of FuboTV, said in a statement.

Just like live betting features offered by other services, like DAZN and Sling, FuboTV’s gambling features face one large but slowly disappearing obstacle: legality. In 2018, the Supreme Court overturned a law that makes sports gambling illegal, meaning individual states are free to choose whether to make sports gambling and its various forms legal. As states move toward loosening restrictions, other major services are bound to give users a way to get in on gambling, with Disney even exploring ways to integrate gambling with ESPN.