Get ready, Tennessee sports bettors! The long-awaited launch of Fanatics Sportsbook is nearly here. On Monday, sports merchandise conglomerate Fanatics is inviting existing customers in Tennessee and Ohio to start testing out its sportsbook.
A Fanatics spokesperson confirmed with Legal Sports Report that, in addition to Monday’s soft launch in TN and OH, Fanatics also plans to feature online sports betting in Massachusetts and Maryland by the middle of June. Fanatics founder Michael Rubin aims to launch at least 12 states by the start of the NFL betting season.
These state-by-state launches are part of Fanatics’ $1 billion investment in its sports betting division — a huge corporate bet that is likely to pay off in a booming market that generated $5.77 billion in revenue last year.
Fanatics released a statement after being approved for launch in Tennessee:
“On Wednesday, March 1, Fanatics Betting and Gaming received approval from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council to go live online in Tennessee with the Fanatics Sportsbook. We started this journey with the goal of developing the best product and experience for sports fans. Today, in Tennessee, we are giving a small group of customers access to our beta product to help us do just that. We are incredibly excited to work with our customers, get their feedback, and deliver the product that sports fans deserve for our public launch later this year.”
How the Fanatics Rollout Works
Fanatics has been beta testing its sports betting app and is now ready to open it up to the public — at least, the part of the public that’s already signed up with Fanatics.
All Tennessee and Ohio residents can now download the Fanatics sports betting app on Android and iOS, but only previously registered users will be able to start placing bets.
Fanatics will email a code to its existing customer base in those states, and they can use that code to sign up and begin placing wagers and accumulating “FanCash.”
What is FanCash?
FanCash is essentially a form of store credit with Fanatics to purchase merchandise. Since Fanatics is one of the largest retailers of licensed sportswear, collectibles, trading cards, etc., fans will have plenty to choose from with their FanCash.
Here’s how FanCash works with the sportsbook.
For every bet customers place, they will get back:
- 1% in FanCash for a single bet
- 3% in FanCash for a parlay
- 5% in FanCash for a same-game parlay
So, if you bet $100 on a same-game parlay, you’d get $5 in FanCash to spend on your next jersey, hat, or $1,199.99 signed Aaron Rodgers NY Jets helmet.
Claim thousands of dollars in sports betting bonuses
Fanatics Bets on Itself and its Massive Fan Base
In the increasingly intense battle for marketplace dominion among US sportsbooks, Fanatics only recently threw its (licensed merch) hat into the ring.
That puts them significantly behind the ball on sports betting, with established brands like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM already dominating the markets in the 33 states with legal sports betting.
But Rubin believes that they have an edge — namely, the company’s 95 million-strong user base on the retail side. DraftKings and FanDuel both launched with a similar strategy of leveraging their massive contact list from daily fantasy sports. They’re the No. 1 and No. 2 sportsbooks today.
Fanatics started its beta rollout in Tennessee with select customers and used the opportunity to survey customer preferences. They prompted queries on various preferences on cosmetic aspects and personalized experiences.
Fanatics aims to edge out the competition with a combination of a better-personalized experience based on their extensive first-party customer data, plus their rewards system offering FanCash to anyone betting on the platform.
Article contributed by Hannah Vanbiber
