Fanatics To Have US Online Sports Wagering Debut Next Week

Although the best mobile sportsbooks are currently going through one of the busiest periods in the gambling calendar, Fanatics Sportsbook is close to the official debut date of its online sports wagering app.

In this regard, Fanatics Betting and Gaming will officially introduce the app next Monday in the two states of Ohio and Tennessee. The Wall Street Journal first officially broke the news on Thursday, hours before the start of the first round of the NFL Draft.

Beta-testing the app in both states:

Before choosing these two states to debut the app, Fanatics beta-tested the app in both states, according to company officials.

Over the past week, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin teased the app’s official debut at the CAA World Congress of Sports in Los Angeles.

There Rubin told the gathered crowd: “I am confident that the quality of the product will be competitive with industry behemoths DraftKings and FanDuel.”

“Fanatics Sportsbook’s online launch comes at a time when the industry has increasingly monitored conversion rates from other verticals. During beta testing, Fanatics converted between 2% and 2.5% of customers from its e-commerce business without offering promotions,” according to Rubin.

Furthermore, currently, Fanatics has launched its retail sportsbook only in Maryland. In addition, in January it officially opened a brick-and-mortar sportsbook at FedEx Field, home of the NFL’ s Washington Commanders.

Goals with the debut of the new app:

With the debut of the new app, Fanatics’ main goal is to chip away at the market share held by the three industry leaders such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM. However, in the Buckeye State, that triumvirate had a combined market share of 79% in February.

Along with the debut of the app, Fanatics may launch its latest customer loyalty program called “FanCash.” On that note, screenshots collected by Sports Handle last week show that sports bettors may have the opportunity to trade FanCash for merchandise and other Fanatics products.

The company also has enough cash to take on the aforementioned industry leaders. Supporting that fact is the completion of a $700 million funding round last December, which gave Fanatics a $31 billion valuation.

Moreover, in addition to the two states, Rubin believes that the company “will be able to convert a high percentage of NFT users and online shoppers at a relatively high rate.”

On that note, Rubin said in a fireside chat with Sports Business Journal Editor Abe Madkour: “We’re pretty bullish. I’m either going to be right, or I’ll tell you that I was wrong and I screwed up.”

Also throughout that chat, Rubin indicated that “Fanatics may launch the app in two additional states by the end of June.”

The operator was amid a few of sportsbook operators that acquired a provisional online sports wagering license from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in February.

Additionally, the NFL, together with Nike, entered into a 10-year deal with Fanatics in 2018 that placed the company as the exclusive distributor of all NFL Nike products. The agreement entered into force in 2020.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers were defeated and sent home from the NBA playoffs on Wednesday night, each NBA and NHL team from Ohio finished their season. In Tennessee, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the L.A. Lakers on Wednesday, but the Nashville Predators missed the playoffs.