FOX Bet Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbook in NJ and PA

by Ryan Gutzler (rgutzler) Last Updated 2023-03-30T13:55:51

FOX Bet is the result of a landmark agreement between media giant FOX Sports and online gambling operator The Stars Group. The deal between the two was announced in May 2019 and could be an indication of what we should expect to see in the US online sports betting market. FOX Bet sportsbook officially launched in August 2019, but in reality, it has been live in the US since August 2018 under the name BetStars.

The rebranding comes with a facelift and a whole new set of resources for the online sportsbook as it spreads its reach out across new sports betting markets in the US. Pairing the online gambling experience of The Stars Group and the familiar name, advertising opportunities, and media coverage of FOX Sports is a powerful combination that makes FOX Bet online sportsbook a force to be reckoned with in the US online sports betting market.

FOX Bet Sportsbook Bonus Offer and Welcome Package

FOX Bet is giving you $120 cash through two separate offers, just to try out their online sportsbook.

Up to $50 in Second Chance Bets!

New users earn up to $50 in Second Chance Bets if their first wager loses. No bonus code is necessary to claim this offer. In order to claim this bonus, you must verify your identity by providing some personal details such as name, address and the last four of your social security number. These details are required by law in order for FOX Bet to open your account.

Once the registration process is done, you will notice that you will have to place up to $50 in order for the bonus to work. This $50 comes with a 1x wagering requirement, and can be bet in any denomination you want as long as the odds are a minimum -200.

For more information on FOX Bet Sportsbook bonus and promo offers, read our FOX Bet Sportsbook review.

FOX Bet US Markets

FOX Bet is currently available in two US markets, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. FOX Bet NJ and FOX Bet PA are almost identical, but there are a few small details that vary based on what side of the Delaware River you are currently betting from.

Key differences include:

• Due to state laws, when betting on FOX Bet NJ, there is no betting on college games that involve New Jersey based colleges, or college events taking place in New Jersey. There are no such restrictions in Pennsylvania.
• There are some variations on in-game offerings depending on which state you are in.
• New Jersey has nine banking options, while Pennsylvania only has six. This may change as Pennsylvania is still a fairly new market.

FOX Bet Potential Future Markets

Back in July 2019, The Stars Group was part of a massive 20 year market-access agreement deal with Penn National, giving FOX Bet access to several markets in the US as states are one by one looking at sports betting as a new source of revenue.

For now, the imminent focus is set on Indiana, where online sports betting is set to go live in Fall 2019, with FOX Bet in great position to be the face of Penn National in the Hoosier State.

The deal with Penn National gives FOX Bet access to Illinois and New Mexico where sports betting is legal and states that are working on legislation such as Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Kansas.

FOX Bet Basics: Registration, Game Formats and Software

Eligibility

You must be 21 years of age or older in order to open an account. You do not need to be a resident of the state and can sign up from anywhere, deposit and withdrawal from anywhere but must be physically located in the state in order to place a bet. For example, if you are from New York, you can open an account at FOX Bet NJ and deposit from your home, but you would need to go visit New Jersey to place your bets.

Betting Options

Once you open an account, and make your way over to the online sportsbook, you will find almost every betting option you could hope for. I say “almost” because FOX Bet does not offer teaser bets but do offer a wide array of alternative lines on standard totals bets and player props. FOX Bet offers bets such as:

• Totals Bets (Over/Under, Half Time totals etc)
• Prop Bets (scoring, player and team props)
• Futures (Long term bets such as Super Bowl winner or NBA Rookie of the Year)
• Parlays up to 20 legs (most of any online sportsbook)
• Live InGame bets
• Custom Bets

Sports Betting Software

The FOX Bet desktop and mobile versions are designed with both beginners and experienced bettors in mind. All available markets are easy to find, the betslip auto-populates but doesn’t take up the whole screen like other sites and even keeps you up to date on placed bets by displaying scores right there in the betslip.

FOX Bet Mobile Sports Betting App

App Features

• Availability – The FOX Bet mobile app is available for both iOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android powered devices.
• Speed – I have no complaints here, app is quick to load, and bet slip populates quickly.
• Stability – I have been using the app since day 1 and have yet to have a disconnect or significant lag. My only complaint is when you close the app, even just for a second, you are automatically disconnected and the app has to reload.
• Appearance – The color scheme pops and the layout is perfect. The look of the app is probably my favorite of any US online sportsbooks.
• View/Layout – When you first log in, you are taken to all of the bet boosts bets with all the available sports, a home button and a live InGame button as well. I would prefer to go direct to the live matches, or popular/upcoming bets but its not a deal breaker. I really like that the betslip does not automatically pop open when you add a bet, but you are notified with a flag. This makes it easy to put together parlays without having to close the betslip and keeps the app free of clutter.
• Responsiveness – There have been no problems getting the app to work with every touch. The buttons are big enough for even the largest fingered bettors, but not too big where it becomes an eyesore. Overall very happy with the apps response.
• Bet Slip/ Building – The betslip was built with parlay building in mind. After clicking on a bet, you will be notified in the top right corner via a flag, and when you have chosen all your bets, you simply click on the flag which will open the betslip and you enter the amount you want to bet. This method of bet building keeps the app free of clutter and is a much better option than other sites, where the betslip automatically pops up and you have to close it if you want to add more bets.

FOX Bet Web-Based Platform

The web-based version of the online sportsbook is practically identical to the app, but the added bonus of more room to work with. FOX Bet does a great job with their layout, giving a ton of suggestions for those who are unsure what they want to bet on, but also makes it easy to find any game or match that you are looking for by placing all available markets on the top of the screen. Some pages are slow to load, but once they are loaded, the sportsbook is very responsive.

You really can’t go wrong with either the desktop or mobile based platform, but for ease of use, the added room makes the desktop version just a little easier to navigate.

Pricing and Betting Options

So far, we have told you about FOX Bets solid, easy to use, aesthetically pleasing platform, available US markets and their very generous promotions, but lets talk about what is most important to serious bettors, their pricing and betting options.

Overall, bettors will have a plethora of betting options, but FOX Bet is missing one very popular bet, the teaser bet. While this is not a deal breaker for most, teaser bets are a very popular option for many.

Despite not having the teaser option, FOX Bet has no shortage of betting options. Including the classic bets like moneyline, spreads, totals, futures and parlays up to 20 legs, but also a wide variety of prop bets and InGame live wagering.

A few examples of their betting options include:

• Touchdown Scorer: Bet on if a player will score a TD or even if they will be the first TD scorer.
• Player Performance: Bet the O/U on a QB passing yardage, player rushing yards, player receptions, goal scorer, aces in a match, total points, strikeouts, homeruns etc
• Halftime/Quarter Bets: Bet all the popular bets like moneyline, spreads, totals or select prop bets per quarter or half.
• InGame betting: InGame betting is not limited to FOX Bet’s constantly updating odds on all the classic bets like moneyline, totals and spreads, You can bet on every point in tennis, every down in football, each batter in baseball and so on.
• Winning Margins: Bet on how many points a team will win by. For example, you can bet on the Phillies to beat the Nationals by 1-2 runs at +220, 3-4 runs at +425, or greater than 4 runs at +333.
• Overtime/Extra Innings: Bet on if the the match will need extra time to find a winner.

These are just a few examples, and bets vary per game. We would like to see more consistency with the betting options across all markets For example, some games you can bet on the QB stats, and some you can’t, which doesn’t make much sense to us, but also may be growing pains as they are still a young online sportsbook.

FOX Bet offers bets on all the major sports and makes the market you want easy to find. All the popular options are tabs on the top of the page, and a fold out menu brings you to all the rest. These options include:

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Boxing/MMA
• Cricket
• Cycling
• Darts
• Football
• Golf
• Hockey
• Motor sports
• Rugby
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Pricing

Pregame betting at FOX Bet lines up for the most part with pricing on spreads and totals bets, usually offering -110 odds, but never beats any other sportsbooks. We did notice several where they are way worse offering -118 or -125 bets which is quite disappointing. It only gets worse when it comes to the juice on moneyline bets.

As we talked about before, FOX Bet does a great job with InGame betting, they offer quickly updating odds on a ton of options, but the pricing could use a lot of work. Compared to other books, FOX Bet could be costing frequent InGame bettors a lot of money. Their juice on live betting is considerably high which affects not only InGame betting but potential early cashout profits.

FOX Bet User Experience

It has been an exciting few years for sports betting in the US. Seemingly overnight, sports betting came out of the shadows and into the mainstream and the partnership between The Stars Group and FOX Sports is looking to make it as easy as possible for new players to not only make their first bets, but have fun doing it.

Attaching the FOX Sports name will give users a sense of familiarity and comfort, while using BetStars software will make it easy to use and add that fun factor they are looking for. This shines through from the home page that features the odds boosts specials where bettors can place a small bet and collect a huge payday if all goes right.

FOX Bet offers daily odds boosts with FOX Sports personalities putting together their “expert” picks into a parlay, and increase the odds for these picks, and sometimes if the boosted bet’s parlay doesn’t win, you get the amount of your bet refunded as bonus bets.

If you ever run into problems, FOX Bet offers a FAQ section, and if you can’t find your answer there, you always have the option to speak with FOX Bet via their 24/7 live chat or via email. We hope to see a phone option in the future, but from our experience, the live chat feature is very helpful and wait times are typically instant or a short 1-2 minute wait during peak times.

Deposit and Withdrawals

FOX Bet has a variety of options for both deposits and withdrawals. Banking options can vary by state and include:

• Visa/Mastercard (Deposit only)
• PayPal
• Skrill
• ACH/EChecks
• PayNearMe
• Stars Transfer
• PokerStars Play+ Card
• Cash at Resorts cage (NJ only)

FOX Bet has a $10 minimum for both deposits and withdrawals. Deposits are instant and withdrawals can take up to 3 days to be reviewed and processed. Certain deposit methods come with a 5 day hold before funds can be withdrawn.

What’s Next for FOX Bet Sportsbook?

FOX Bet is currently available in two states and should extending it reach over the US market in the near future with a close eye on Indiana who should have online sports betting by the end of 2019.

FOX Bet looks to be a major force in the US market with its familiar name, endless advertising possibilities via the FOX Sports network and the deal in place with Penn National that opens up the possibility of opening up shop in states as laws continue to be passed legalizing and regulating online sports betting.

FOX Bet does not have a live retail sportsbook as of yet, but we expect when Mount Airy Casino opens up live sports betting that it will be a FOX Bet powered sportsbook. Every state that comes on board with sports betting is another opportunity for FOX Bet to leave their mark not only online, but live retail sportsbook as well.