Fanatics Expect to Launch Sports Betting For the 2023 Football Season

Less than a week after reports surfaced that ESPN may be close to entering the U.S. legal sports betting waters, Fanatics made news regarding its own sports betting plans last week.

Speaking at the CAA World Congress of Sports in New York, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin announced that the company will launch its new sports betting division early next year, in January 2023. The entry of Fanatics into the U.S. sports betting industry will coincide with the NFL playoffs, giving the prominent sports merchandiser ample opportunity to test whether customers will mix multi-leg parlays with the jersey of their choice.

By January, Fanatics plans to launch sports betting operations in every major state except for New York, Rubin said at Tuesday’s panel. Last fall, Fanatics appeared close to receiving a coveted bid for a mobile sports betting license in New York, but it failed to make the final cut.

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After a closely watched competitive bidding process, the New York State Gaming Commission selected nine online sportsbook operators, including industry heavyweights Bet MGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, and FanDuel. The state has imposed a 51% tax on online gross gaming revenues, a levy that ties it with New Hampshire for the nation’s highest sports betting tax rate.

ESPN is believed to be nearing to license of its sports betting brand to DraftKings. The potential entry of ESPN and Fanatics into the sports betting industry by early next year could add two sharks to an already crowded pool.

The long-awaited entry of Fanatics into the sports betting space has been largely viewed as a pending threat by its potential sportsbook competitors. Whereas traditional sportsbooks have offered inducements such as boosted bets and free wagers to bring on new customers, Fanatics has another arrow in its quiver. Fanatics views itself as a one-stop shop for fan entertainment inside a stadium, with the objective of becoming a  “global digital platform for sports,” Ari Borod, the company’s chief commercial officer for betting and gaming, said last spring.

According to its website, Fanatics has more than four dozen physical stores worldwide, including prominent stadium and arena venues across the U.S. The company also provides a blended, end-to-end e-commerce and brick-and-mortar solution for more than 50 professional sports and college programs through licensing agreements with the top four North American professional sports leagues, the NCAA, and MLS others. Fanatics, which has a valuation north of $20 billion, also has a vast database of rabid sports fans to tap into for sports betting.

Fanatics is a respected brand that will draw immediate attention and business.

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