Fox Sports is entering uncharted territory for a U.S. Media company, announcing its plans to partner with The Stars Group to launch a sports betting app this fall.

Yes, you read that right. Soon, depending on your state laws, you’ll be able to bet real money on sports games with Fox Sports this football season.

SVP Strategy & Operations, USA at The Stars Group Matt Primeaux said that the company will be replacing its BetStars brand in favor of FOX Bet. BetStars is currently still live in New Jersey and it is still unclear when the brand change will occur.

The companies plan on offering two separate betting products. One that will be a more traditional sports betting service, like we see from major online brands such as FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook and BetStars. The second product will allow people to test their sports forecasting skills in free-to-play games for cash prizes without being in a state that has passed gambling legislation.

ESPN and Yahoo! have been forwarding thinking when it comes to the sports speculation sphere in the past.

In 2008, ESPN introduced its Streak for Cash, now called ESPN Streak, where registered users predicted sports outcomes in hopes of rising up the leaderboard for cash prizes. It’s a pick’em style game where the goal is to build the longest winning streak. From its inception through March 2019, ESPN awarded $9.7 million dollars cash prizes.

Yahoo! launched its daily fantasy product in 2015 in hopes of competing with some of the major DFS operators.

But since the Supreme Court overturned the ban on sports wagering outside Nevada, the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act, commonly referred to as PASPA, in May 2018, no media company has made an effort to replace your local bookie quite like Fox Sports is doing now.

Of course, just because your state has sports betting doesn’t mean you’ll be able to wager with FOX Bet. Appropriate sports legislation will need to have been passed and put into law to allow you to do so. Not all sports betting bills are sufficient. Some legislation around the country include in-person registration requirements, restrictions on mobile-wagering, and limits competition to certain operators.

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Needless to say, the future of sports betting is here. What was once limited to underground bookies and offshore sites and cashiers checks is becoming ever more mainstream. With the announcement, Fox Sports has cemented themselves as a major player in the young industry going forward. Expect the company’s presence to help speed up an already rapidly expanding movement and remove the negative stigma that has tattooed sports betting and flooded state legislatures with outdated arguments for far too long.

There’s still much to be seen, but here’s one thing you can bet on: Fox may be the first media company to enter the newly regulated sphere, but they certainly won’t be the last.