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FOX Bet Officially Launches in PA, And It’s Awesome
By Kyle Scott
Published:
The long-awaited debut is here. FOX Bet has officially launched in Pennsylvania just in time for the start of football season.
The FOX Sports branded betting app had previously existed in New Jersey under the BetStars name, but earlier this year, FOX Sports bought a 5% stake in BetStars’ parent company, The Stars Group, with plans to rename the sportsbook in their likeness. The launch allows them to become the first sports media company in the United States to have its own betting app, a model pioneered by SkyBet over in the UK.
Here’s what you need to know about FOX Bet in Pennsylvania.
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FOX Bet PA App
FOX Bet PA is available to play through a website or an iOS and Android app. Interestingly, it is a separate app from what is available in New Jersey and called “FOX Bet Pennsylvania.” This differs from FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook, both of which offer the same app across multiple states, though the latter is not yet available in Pennsylvania.
The app includes branding from Mt. Airy Casino Resort, FOX Bet’s casino partner in PA.
Users can sign up here to get a $20 free bet and a $100 deposit match on their first deposit.
The free bet is applied instantly and comes with no strings attached. The deposit match, too, is instantly available up to $100 following your first deposit.
What Makes It So Good
I’ve spent the last few days testing FOX Bet and came away impressed. It’s hard to put your finger on, but FOX Bet comes with an engaging quality that other sports betting apps in PA don’t seem to have. Maybe it’s the inclusion of FOX Sports personalities, maybe it’s the straightforward interface, or maybe it’s the added features like live gamecasts and win probability that make the app stickier than what’s available. Regardless, the user experience is a positive one.
FOX Bet, like its previous iteration, BetStars, features an array of fun and useful odds boosts. They are enhanced by their ties to individual FOX personalities. There seems to be actual value in what’s being offered up through boosts and risk-free bet offers. It feels like there might actually be an edge to these offers. Whereas other sportsbook daily promos seem to come from marketing quants to extract the maximum betting handle for a given event, you feel like what’s being offered in FOX Bet is less considered and might actually have some upside.
There were no issues getting signed up or depositing funds. FOX Bet doesn’t yet offer an online banking option in PA, so we recommend using echeck (routing and account number) to deposit your funds– it was quick and seamless. Keep in mind, all of this is regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, so you can be sure it is secure.
There are a few areas for improvement. The app does feel like a 1.0, but I’ve yet to find a legal sports betting app that doesn’t feel a bit more raw than popular mainstream mobile apps. Likely due to required login and geolocation checks, or perhaps the need to load large databases, online sportsbooks tend to be a bit more sluggish. This is occasionally the case with FOX Bet in PA, but otherwise the app is great, intuitive, and in my testing, free from any major usability issues. It’s… fun.
FOX Bet Will Be Huge
With the exceptions of FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook, other sports betting apps have to work very hard to get their names into the public domain.
FOX, on the other hand, carries the games itself, and while they, too, will spend gobs of money on promoting their sportsbook, they’re also able to do so organically.
The app offers betting on a wide range of sports well beyond just the major American sports, but it will undoubtedly focus heavily on football as all betting apps do. FOX Sports, of course, carries the coveted 1:00 PM Sunday time slot for the NFL, and there is no doubt they plan to promote the site heavily on their broadcasts and other properties.
In the early going, they are already using FOX Sports personalities to brand the app:
A recent survey found that more people were likely to bet with a FOX branded app than DraftKings. That instantly puts them at the top of the pecking order, at least when it comes to the brand name.
FOX Bet becomes the fifth PA online sportsbook to launch this year, expected to be followed in a few weeks by DraftKings Sportsbook PA. But it is currently our choice for the best app for Pennsylvania bettors.
Kyle Scott is the founder and editor of CrossingBroad.com. He has written for CBS Philly and Philly Voice, and been a panelist or contributor on NBC Sports Philly, FOX 29 and SNY TV, as well as a recurring guest on 97.5 The Fanatic, 94 WIP, 106.7 The Fan and other stations. He has more than 10 years experience running digital media properties and in online advertising and marketing.