Will Joe Biden And Donald Trump Bump Elbows At Their First Debate? A Fox App Lets You Place A Bet On It
EXCLUSIVE: With the first presidential debate a week away, Fox Corp.’s gaming unit Fox Bet has come up with a novel way to take wagers on the onstage action.
Fox Bet Super 6, a free-to-play app where users make predictions about what they think will happen in six live contests, is adding presidential politics to its offerings for the first time. A $25,000 pool of prize money is guaranteed to be given away after the September 29 debate, divided among top-performing players.
The Presidential Debate Game isn’t about policy wonkery. Instead, it lets participants wager on things like how Joe Biden and Donald Trump will greet each other on the debate stage. The multiple-choice answers: (A) Shake hands, B) First bump, C) Elbow bump, D) Air-five, E) None/Other. Another question asks who will be the last one to say “America” during the debate.
The venture won’t likely appease critics of the increasing froth surrounding political media and election coverage in 2020. It also may not be sheer coincidence that the moderator of the debate is Chris Wallace of Fox News. But FOX Bet interim CEO Kip Levin says the goal is straightforward: increasing engagement.
“We know all eyes will be on the September 29th debate, as they should be in America, and encourage everyone to tune in,” Levin said. He called the game “an entertaining way for viewers to take in the debate, test their knowledge on what will be discussed, and have some fun with the event.”
Fox Bet Super 6 primarily functions as a sports app where users make quick predictions about what they think will happen in six games. A jackpot prize is awarded if the user gets all six picks correct and if nobody hits the jackpot, thousands of dollars are available in guaranteed prizes.
After a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for states to start legalizing sports betting, Fox Corp. invested significant resources in the space. It bought stakes in Fan Duel parent Flutter as well as gaming giant Stars Group in 2019 and then launched Fox Bet.
The Fox Bet Super 6 app has drawn 1.4 million downloads since its launch a year ago. More than $1.4 million has been paid out through the app, including $250,000 to one Houston man wagering on NFL games in a single week last fall.
In June, when Fox announced plans to increase its stake in Flutter to as much as 18.5% by 2021, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the company is “bullish about the opportunities in the digital sports wagering market.”
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