Foxcatcher is the latest smaller wagering business to be acquired by another player, after Pointsbet bought out the business with the intention of continuing to operate it as a content brand under founder James Jordan.
Foxcatcher, licensed in Victoria, features a content-led ‘Intel’ arm and the Foxcatcher Betting platform, which until now has been hosted on Betmakers’ white label offering. It was founded in 2022 by Jordan and Julian Vallance.
Under the deal, the betting platform and its customers will be integrated into Pointsbet while the intel/content brand will continue on under the new ownership.
Foxcatcher informed its account holders this week that it had been acquired, and Jordan confirmed to The Straight that a deal had been done after several months of searching for a suitor.
“I had noticed that there were a few changes happening and I feel the landscape's hard for small bookies,” Jordan said. “I realised that after about 12 months, it wasn't going to get any easier.”
“I spoke to a few different bookies that I would describe as mid-range, like Pointsbet, at what they're looking for in areas they're trying to grow. Our business is quite strong in the content side of things.”
Jordan is a highly respected form and market analyst who worked for Sportsbet and then built his profile as the leading analyst of South Australian racing on Racing.com. He has used Foxcatcher to further that reputation.
He said a natural tension always existed between the content and wagering aspects of the Foxcatcher business and the content arm had become a key selling point in pitching it for sale.
“If you take away our content and floated yourself for potential sale, they'd say, "So what exactly are we buying?”, he said.
“Pointsbet did their due diligence and worked out how many of our database they actually had already and how many were. I'd imagine the majority of the value that they see is in terms of us coming across and being able to do some content and build on the brand that already exists.”
Bren O’Brien
Pointsbet Australia CEO Andrew Catterall agreed that the content play, rather than a consolidation or customer acquisition move, was a significant part of the appeal, but there was also upside to acquiring the wagering business.
“We feel Foxcatcher customers will have a much better experience on our platform,” he said.
“We think Jules and James are two of the best racing and sport content talents in the country. They've already got a good following and so maybe with a bit of our investment, they could build a really strong community around Foxcatcher.”
Catterall was CEO at Racing.com when Jordan started on the South Australian broadcast in 2017.
Meanwhile, Vallance, who formerly worked for Sportsbet before joining with Jordan to start Foxcatcher, left the business to work with Pointsbet some months ago.
Bren O’Brien
Quality content offerings, such as those Foxcatcher has produced, are set to become more valuable to wagering service providers in the likelihood that a federal government ban on advertising is introduced.
A host of smaller bookmakers which emerged through white label platforms in the pandemic and post-pandemic wagering boom, have found themselves on the market as wagering returns decline and compliance requirements mount.
Consolidation of the industry has seen brands like Thunderbet. Punters Pal, Southern Cross Bet, Winbet, Betflux, Rambet and Combet either be acquired by another party or shut up shop in the past few months.
Jordan said he can only see this trend continuing, given the shrinking margins, mounting costs, and compliance in the bookmaking business.
“I wasn't first to the party when we started and I wasn't going to be last to leave,” he said.
