Verizon mulls investing on US sports betting venture

American conglomerate Verizon Communications Inc. is not closing its doors when it comes to betting big in the multibillion-dollar sports betting market.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Verizon is considering the possibility of investing on a sports-focused online gambling venture in case the U.S. Supreme Court decides to declare the federal sports betting ban unconstitutional.

News insiders told the news outlet that the telecoms juggernaut held consultations with financial and gaming experts to weigh on sports betting as it tries to transform itself into a more diversified media business.

Verizon is already one step closer to the gambling industry after it acquired web services provider Yahoo, including its fantasy sports unit, for $4.5 billion last year. Data showed Yahoo is a clear No. 3 in the DFS market, trailing behind DraftKings and FanDuel by a large margin. It boasts some 1.3 billion users who spend an average of 30 billion minutes a year in its offerings.