Fanatics readies long-awaited sports betting push with trademark application
Global sportswear retailer registers “BETFANATICS” brand with US Patent and Trademark Office amid plans to go online with own brand
Fanatics has triggered the first phase of long-mooted plans to launch a US sportsbook brand, applying to register the “BETFANATICS” trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The filing, made last week with the USPTO, includes two separate patent applications under the BETFANATICS umbrella, one focusing on sports betting, and the other on the interaction between the sports betting app and online gaming.
The first application includes trademarks for a downloadable mobile application for betting and gaming and fantasy sports leagues.
In addition, the trademark application includes a downloadable mobile app featuring sports and esports related news, as well as player and team statistics for usage in game analysis and predictive forecasting.
The companion patent application includes the provision of online casino, poker and poker tournaments, as well as horseracing data, media and information and “ongoing internet protocol” television programming segments on sports, igaming, and poker.
It follows earlier applications made by Fanatics for its online casino app in October.
The applications follow more than a year of speculation surrounding a potential foray for Fanatics into sports betting as well as online casino, with the sports merchandizer looking to exploit its global licensing of major sports leagues and teams to develop a sportsbook market share.
Adding fuel to the rumours is an aggressive recruitment drive by the firm to augment its fledgling betting and gaming division, an offshoot led by former FanDuel CEO Matt King, with Fanatics making hires in key areas.
A central strand in the rumours surrounding Fanatics sports betting ambitions were suggestions that the firm could look to springboard its sportsbook ambitions through aggressive M&A, with a number of US operators including PointsBet suggested as possible targets.
However, Fanatics chairman Michael Rubin scotched these suggestions in February, claiming the firm was uninterested in potential M&A due to the lack of attractive targets following a slump in the market valuations of many of the US’s biggest names, including DraftKings.
Reports would later link Fanatics with the acquisition of sports betting technology from UK-based platform supplier Amelco, however these reports have not been confirmed.
To date, Fanatics has no licenses to operate sports betting in any US state, despite making several attempts to force its way onto the scene.
In August, Fanatics was one of a number of operators submitting license applications to operate sports betting in New York, an application which would have seen the firm partner with rap icon and Roc-Nation founder Jay-Z.
New York state regulators ultimately dismissed the Fanatics bid, suggesting that it did not meet the Empire State’s rigorous standards.
However, Fanatics has not been deterred by its New York failure, adding its support to an operator-backed legislative initiative aimed at legalizing online sports betting in California.
The multi-operator group, which also includes BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings. has supplied more than $100m in funding to the campaign to force legislation onto a November 2022 ballot. It will go toe-to-toe with a rival initiative backed by some of California’s largest Indian tribes after securing more than 1.6 million petition signatures from Californians.