Fanatics expects to come into the online gambling business through various moves, some of them already in play. Let’s see how.
- Last year, Fanatics opened a retail sportsbook in Maryland.
- The company has its fingers in several mobile sportsbook operations, testing their product in the market. This includes Ohio, Tennessee and Massachusetts.
- FanDuel and DraftKings have become a growing threat to online casino operators; it’s a road Fanatics could follow even now.
- Enter PointsBet. Fanatics anticipates completion of the purchase of the Australian company’s U.S. assets by year’s end. The deal includes access to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states for online sportsbooks and online casinos. The latter has the potential to blow sportsbooks out of the water based on New Jersey and Pennsylvania stats.
- Using its massive 96 million database for its merchandising business, Fanatics can test its theory that their data from its customers gives them a large advantage, especially in the online casino market.
In markets where sportsbooks and online casinos are operating, online outperforms sportsbooks by 2 to 1, according to PlayNJ.
The $150 million price tag for PointsBet’s domestic operations almost seems like a bargain for Fanatics, whose patience could pay off big in the long run, especially considering the value of PointsBet’s online casino operations.
New Jersey is the U.S.’s most mature online casino market, having first legalized internet gambling websites in 2013. Through the first four months of 2023, the state has generated more than $620 million in online casino revenue compared to just under $293 million from retail and online sports betting combined.
Forecasting how Fanatics would fare as a legal online casino is nearly impossible. Their online sportsbook app is in its early phases. The company is still ironing out details in terms of marketing, cross-platform promotions and regulatory compliance.
Most industry experts predict Fanatics will leverage its gambling products with its merchandising, apparel and recently acquired trading card businesses. How that will work with online sportsbooks or online casinos remains to be seen.
The anticipation is that the Fanatics-PointsBet partnership will change the sports betting landscape. By combining Fanatics’ established connection to sports fans and their preferences with PointsBet’s betting experience, the deal may deliver a unique and unparalleled gambling platform via Fanatics Online Casino in N.J.
Fanatics expects to complete its acquisition of PointsBet by the end of the year.
