Mojo Sports activities Betting Alternate Lays Off 20 P.c of Workforce
Mojo, a sportsbook change financially backed by Alex Rodriguez, laid off 20% of its workforce final week.
Alex Rodriguez’s Mojo Sportsbook participant change is seemingly winding down its sports activities betting enterprise in favor of concentrating on its each day fantasy sports activities product. Mojo just lately laid off 20% of its workforce. (Picture: AP/Mojo/On line casino.org)
Monetary and enterprise information media outlet Business Insider experiences that the A-Rod-supported sports activities betting business startup is remodeling its enterprise mannequin away from its preliminary focus.
Mojo debuted in September 2022 as a wagering change that permits gamers to purchase and promote shares of NFL gamers. “Wager on sports activities like shares” is the platform’s tagline.
Mojo’s change values every participant’s share primarily based on their previous efficiency, with their future worth depending on subsequent play. A ten-yard acquire for a operating again will increase the participant’s inventory worth by a penny, whereas a turnover by the identical participant ends in a four-cent loss.
Mojo raised greater than $100 million in funding from A-Rod and billionaire Marc Lore, who additionally collectively personal the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves. Lore made his fortune by promoting Diapers.com to Amazon in 2011 for greater than $500 million.
Mojo additionally obtained funding from the NFL Gamers Affiliation and New York personal fairness agency Thrive Capital. Earlier than the layoffs, Mojo’s workforce numbered about 100 workers.
Enterprise Overhaul
Mojo’s player-wagering change by no means caught on. On line casino.org has been following the corporate since its launch and has noticed the platform’s X account repeatedly receiving lower than a handful of likes and/or retweets.
Talking with Enterprise Insider, a Mojo spokesperson mentioned the layoffs are primarily because of the change’s lack of ability to generate significant, sustained person development.
Regretfully, we let go of about 20% of the corporate. It’s definitely a tragic day for our firm and we thank these gifted workers for his or her many contributions,” the spokesperson mentioned of the layoffs.
The Mojo NFL participant change was restricted to New Jersey, the place it gained authorization by its partnership with Caesars Leisure’s Tropicana Atlantic Metropolis. To achieve a broader demographic, Mojo in September 2023 ventured into each day fantasy sports activities with an progressive product constructed on the sportsbook’s live-trading rules.
Mojo Fantasy is reside in 19 states and Washington, DC. The fantasy sports activities sport makes use of “dynamic probability-based pricing” within the format of a fantasy sports activities contest.
Mojo is reportedly focusing its efforts on its DFS operations. Whereas the sports activities betting change stays operational in New Jersey, the agency seems able to wind down its sportsbook unit within the coming months.
Sports activities Betting Consolidation
The Mojo Sportsbook downfall is the most recent within the sports activities betting business, which expanded quickly within the US following the Might 2018 Supreme Court docket resolution that discovered a federal regulation that had restricted single-game wagering to Nevada unconstitutional.
Quite a few startups and sportsbooks from legacy on line casino operators raised vital capital after the landmark SCOTUS resolution. Expensive licensing charges and excessive tax charges imposed in lots of the states that opted in rendered the business a low-margin enterprise that created a pathway to profitability unattainable for lots of the firms.
DraftKings and FanDuel at the moment management the authorized sports activities betting market within the US. These firms benefited from being the DFS leaders when the SCOTUS ruling was handed down. Their giant databases of customers who loved wagering on sports activities allowed them to pivot to sports activities betting and attain appreciable market share.
