If you log onto the Fanatics merchandise website, you won't find any mention of a sportsbook. If you search the site for 'Fanatics Sportsbook' you'll land on a page full of gift cards and gear. Why? Because just like how legacy casino companies consider their sportsbooks to be amenities – ways to draw in customers – so does Fanatics.
The difference is Fanatics isn’t so much using sports betting to bring customers to its brick-and-mortar locations. Instead, sports betting can drive consumers to buy more gear.
The company’s core digital business is – and has been since the current iteration was founded in 2011 in Jacksonville, Florida – sports merchandise. Founder Michael Rubin has been capitalising on the fan experience for close to 15 years. And that phrase, “the fan experience”, is as critical to the company’s sportsbook mission as it is to any of its other businesses, whether that be team jerseys, trading cards or collectibles.
“The goal is, I think you have ..
