Score Media says it made betting on theScore Bet sportsbook app much easier through its media app with FUSE.

FUSE comprises of new integrations that makes navigation between theScore media app and theScore Bet easier and faster.

“We’ve created an unparalleled cross-platform media and betting experience, getting sports fans into the action faster than ever,” CEO John Levy said. “Our goal is to continue to surpass sports fans’ expectations while leading the way for media in the sports betting industry. And with FUSE, we’re only getting started.”

Apple users can click what they’d like to bet in theScore media app – money line, over/under, etc. – and have theScore Bet open with the bet slip ready to be confirmed.

Previously, users clicked a button on the game they intended to bet to open theScore Bet, where all the betting choices had to be made. For now, only those in New Jersey can bet with theScore Bet but that will eventually change.

Three more states for theScore Bet?

theScore Bet could be in four or more states this time next year with the company considering Colorado, Indiana and Iowa, according to Levy.

The company has access to Indiana and Iowa through a market access agreement with Penn National. Colorado is a viable option too, as there are 33 casinos that have licenses for mobile partners, Levy said.

Score Media, one of North America’s most popular sports media companies, launched its first foray into sports betting before the start of NFL season this year in New Jersey. The conversion of its media customers into sports betting so far is “bang-on” company expectations, he said.

Levy said he isn’t concerned about taking market share quickly as the company has a long-term vision for the sportsbook business. September’s handle was in the range the company expected, he said on the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call

Early leader FanDuel Sportsbook and runner-up DraftKings Sportsbook own nearly three-quarters of NJ sports betting app market share through the first 16 months.

Milking the cow themselves

Levy said his company had to approach sports betting differently than other media companies.

“Why give away the milk when you have the cow?” he said.

The cow, as Levy put it, is theScore’s userbase. The media app had 272 million average user sessions during the fiscal fourth quarter. Based on its 3.6 million average monthly users, that amounts to 75 sessions per user each month.

Building an app from the ground up

Levy and the Toronto-listed company chose not to act as an affiliate and send its users elsewhere for a small piece of the revenue pie. The company instead began working on its own sportsbook.

theScore built the app from scratch to strive for seamless integration with its media app. Bet.Works supplies the sportsbook platform.

theScore’s distribution of users tends to correlate with US population density. That means progress in states like New York, California, Texas and Florida will be key.

Different opportunities arising

Some of the opportunities theScore has talked about with potential partners are remarkable, Levy said.

One potential opportunity could be with Penn National. The regional casino operator kept the primary skin its 19 states but doesn’t have a sports betting brand. That’s where a media partner could fit, Penn National suggested.

theScore fits the type of partner Penn National COO Jay Snowden said the company wants:

“We do envision having partners, potentially, that we will be thinking about how we can engage with their customers who are sports enthusiasts at this point,” he said. “And then of course, once they become part of our sports betting database, [we’ll] introduce them to our casino product as well.”

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