VSiN announces expansion of sports betting podcast lineup

Steve (Ziv) Chen

10 October 2025 at 7:29am UTC-4

Source: Shutterstock

Email, LinkedIn, and more

Sports betting broadcasting network VSiN has expanded its podcast offerings with a range of new and returning shows.

The new podcasts include Pod to the Futures, hosted by Mitch Moss and Jonathan Von Tobel, which focuses on season-long betting odds across major leagues, and Pauly Does Vegas, with host Pauly Howard sharing stories from Las Vegas’ gambling history.

Article continues below ad

Among the returning podcasts is the College Football Betting Podcast, hosted by Tim Murray and featuring a rotating panel, which offers weekly analysis of NCAA matchups.

First Strike is another returning podcast that covers MMA, UFC, and boxing. Meanwhile, Sharp Money, hosted by Patrick Meagher and Mike Somich, will provide post-game analysis and previews for NFL betting, airing twice a week.

Notably, the long running GM Shuffle podcast introduces new hosts with former NFL executive Marty Hurney and ex-player Geoff Schwartz taking over the football discussion show.

Article continues below ad

Sports fans will also be able to listen to Fade Us Sports, which features poker veterans Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Brandon Cantu, and David Woodley offering sports betting takes.

Steve Cohen, Executive Vice President of talent and programming at VSiN, said, “Adding these new titles further secures VSiN’s position as the leading creator of sports betting content anywhere. Our continued commitment to actionable, credible, high-quality content sets us apart from the competition and fuels our growth.”

The expansion follows a recent partnership with FanDuel, which sees the operator distribute VSiN’s content through the FanDuel Sports Network.

View Steve (Ziv) Chen's bio and articles.

Locations:

Verticals:

Sectors:

Topics:

Dig Deeper

The Backstory

How sports media, operators and regulators set the stage

The betting industry’s latest moves sit atop months of jockeying by media outlets, sportsbooks and policymakers to control distribution, content and market access. A push by VSiN to bulk up its programming, a nationwide tie-up with FanDuel’s channels, reconciliation efforts by FanDuel and DraftKings with California’s tribes, and new product bets from Robinhood and SailGP show how strategy is shifting as growth cools in mature states and regulators scrutinize new categories.

VSiN made a bid to deepen engagement with bettors by enlarging its audio slate, adding new franchises and refreshing stalwarts. The network rolled out new and returning shows across league futures, combat sports and college football while reshaping a legacy NFL program with new voices, a signal it wants to capture more day-to-day listening and season-long wagering cycles. Executives framed the move as a credibility play and a growth hedge as competition for bettor attention intensifies. The expansion followed a distribution leap: VSiN’s weekday morning show began airing across FanDuel Sports Network’s app and regional channels, giving the brand a national footprint and a pipeline to local fan bases. Together, the content build and the carriage deal point to a classic flywheel: more shows feed more reach, more reach lifts sponsorship and affiliate revenue, and distribution partners gain programming with built-in bettor audiences.

That media muscle matters as operators target differentiated acquisition. FanDuel and DraftKings are leaning on content, data and league partnerships to pull in customers with higher lifetime value. It also matters as lawmakers test the limits of expansion, which could reroute marketing dollars between channels and products. The backdrop is a market where sports betting is mainstream, but iCasino and event markets remain contested territory.

VSiN’s programming gambit underscores how media aims to meet bettors wherever they are. The new lineup includes futures-focused analysis and personality-driven storytelling that connect the dots between odds, markets and entertainment. By layering these formats on top of distribution via FanDuel’s network, the partners are betting that habitual listening converts to higher betting frequency. In a margin-sensitive sector, habitual use is the point.

The stakes rise as more leagues ink betting tie-ups designed to turn live moments into wagers. That demands robust, real-time content and data packaging, an area where media networks and sportsbooks see mutual upside.

Read more on VSiN’s programming push and its FanDuel distribution pact: VSiN announces expansion of sports betting podcast lineup and VSiN announces nationwide partnership with FanDuel.

California’s reset after ballot-box failure

The biggest long-term swing factor remains California. After voters rejected dueling 2022 ballot measures, the industry’s two largest operators changed tack. FanDuel and DraftKings struck a conciliatory tone with tribal leaders this year, acknowledging missteps and promising a tribe-led process. That pivot reflects basic math. California’s population, economy and sports culture make it the single largest potential growth engine for online betting, yet tribal sovereignty and political realities mean commercial operators cannot go it alone.

Importantly, the operators signaled they would not back a competing ballot measure against the tribes. That eases near-term political tension and opens space for a negotiated framework that could include branding, revenue sharing and technology support on tribal terms. If realized, it would set a national template for large-scale market launches in tribal jurisdictions. If talks stall, capital and marketing plans will remain on hold, and gray-market and sweepstakes products could gain ground in the gap.

The California conversation also reverberates elsewhere. Operators are recalibrating how they approach sovereignty, community benefits and long-term partnerships, not just access fees. That affects how they invest in local media, retail footprints and responsible gaming programs to win trust before statutes change.

For details on the thaw between operators and tribes, see FanDuel and DraftKings made peace with California tribes over sports betting expansion.

Regulators test brakes on iCasino growth

Even as sportsbooks press for new markets, regulators are slowing momentum in iCasino. Ohio’s governor drew a hard line against online slots and table games despite legislative efforts in both chambers. Supporters argue the state already permits the component parts and would reap hundreds of millions in taxes. The governor framed it as a public health risk that effectively puts a casino in every pocket, raising the profile of addiction concerns.

Brick-and-mortar interests added pressure, warning of cannibalization and job losses. That split is not unique to Ohio. The policy debate over iCasino is sharper than for sports betting because slot and table revenue dwarfs handle and ties directly to local employment. For operators, delays in iCasino expansion crimp margin expansion, since casino products typically deliver higher profitability per user than sports wagering. For states, the tradeoff is immediate tax revenue versus local economic impact and political optics.

Ohio’s stance is a reminder that sports betting acceptance does not guarantee a glide path for iCasino. It also raises the importance of alternative growth vectors, from new media distribution to international expansion and new product classes.

Background on the Ohio debate: Ohio governor opposes igaming expansion.

New product frontiers and the search for yield

With key states gridlocked on iCasino, companies are pushing into adjacent products and geographies. Robinhood moved quickly to scale event contracts, then began talks with overseas regulators to expand prediction markets where the category falls under gambling rules rather than U.S. futures oversight. The firm has avoided the most controversial markets, positioning the product as compliant and mass-market. Early revenue estimates suggest material traction, and an international rollout could diversify beyond U.S. regulatory risk.

This is a test of product-market fit and rule harmonization. Success would create a new revenue stream that sits between retail trading and sports betting, monetizing interest around elections, entertainment and sanctioned events. Failure would underscore how fragmented oversight can blunt innovation. Either way, the move pressures incumbents to decide whether to compete, partner or lobby for clarity.

More on Robinhood’s plan: Robinhood eyes overseas expansion for prediction markets.

Leagues sharpen the engagement playbook

Sports properties are also rewriting their commercial models. SailGP’s betting tie-up with DraftKings and Bet365 aims to turn a data-rich, high-velocity format into wagering moments. The league touts hundreds of thousands of data points per second and a competitive field that can swing outcomes race to race. That profile aligns with in-play betting demand and the industry’s push to convert casual viewers into active bettors via real-time odds and micro markets.

For DraftKings and Bet365, the partnership is a chance to reach a global, tech-forward audience and to pilot data-driven pricing in a complex live environment. For SailGP, it is a way to add year-round engagement and attract sponsors that value time spent and conversion, not just reach. The move mirrors growth strategies in niche or emerging sports that rely on betting as a second-screen hook.

If these partnerships scale, expect more leagues to broker rights that package integrity monitoring, official data and bespoke bet types. If they stall, it may signal that only mainstream leagues can sustain the cost of live markets at scale.

Details on the partnership are here: SailGP announces sports betting partnership with DraftKings and Bet365.

The through line: distribution, trust and regulation

Across these moves, three themes connect the dots. First, distribution is king. VSiN’s broader slate and FanDuel carriage, SailGP’s betting rails and Robinhood’s international talks all extend reach to where users already spend time. Second, trust is the currency. California’s tribes asked for respect and control, and operators responded because growth depends on durable partnerships. Third, regulation sets the pace. Ohio’s resistance to iCasino and the patchwork governing prediction markets show how policy can cap upside or create new lanes.

The next leg of growth will likely come from pairing content with compliant access, partnering with rights holders that can deliver data at speed, and meeting local political demands. Companies threading that needle will be positioned to capture share when the next large market opens.