Billionaire Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, is the latest team owner to invest in the Action Network, a new sports gambling digital media company. Ross’ RSE Ventures contributed a portion of the $17.5 million fundraising round earlier this year, according to a Bloomberg story November 27.
“As more and more states legalize sports betting, we believe that a new media company will emerge to service this sector, one that best integrates data and content,” said Matt Higgins, RSE’s co-founder and CEO. “The Action Network has a unique blend of imaginative content creators and data miners. It’s a compelling combination that’s translating to impressive growth in subscriptions.”
Owners of the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils have also anted up for Action Network.
“It’s affirming to our strategy to have all four of the major U.S. sports as investors,” Action Network CEO Patrick Keane said. “To be able to call on the counsel of these kinds of owners is super-helpful to the company.”
Action Network is just the latest marriage of pro teams and sports betting. In the past 12 months, the NFL signed its first-ever casino partner and made a wider deal with Sportradar AG to distribute its data to gambling operators in the U.S. and abroad. Teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets have signed their own deals with casinos and sports betting operators. Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots, was an early investor in DraftKings, which is now a licensed operator.
The Dolphins have not been involved much with sports betting, which remains illegal in Florida. Last year, the team urged Floridians to vote no on a ballot initiative that would have made it harder to legalize sports betting statewide. The initiative passed anyway.
Action Network was launched in 2017 by the Chernin Group, led by media mogul Peter Chernin. The company is looking to be a one-stop shop for sports bettors, offering podcasts and news from its stable of about 30 reporters and editors. Paid subscribers get access to betting-market trends and other analytic tools.
The fundraising was led by private equity firm Fertitta Capital. Other investors included Blackstone Group’s David Blitzer, co-owner of the 76ers and Devils; the owners of the Chicago Cubs; 6721 Capital, a fund formed by sports marketing executive Casey Wasserman and the investment banking firm Code Advisors; and Bitkraft Esports Ventures, the world’s first eSports-specific venture capital fund.
The NFL stands to profit more from widespread legal sports betting than any other U.S. league. A 2018 study by the American Gaming Association and Nielsen found that the NFL’s projected revenue boost was $2.33 billion, more than double that of the next closest league, and four times the NBA’s opportunity.
