Fanatics eyes potential international sports betting expansion

Fanatics chairman Michael Rubin has said the American sports merchandising giant will soon enter the global sports betting market but distanced the firm from prospective US-based M&A activity.

In comments reported by Sports Business Journal, Rubin affirmed his commitment to entering the sportsbook space despite Fanatics currently not possessing any sort of betting platform or technology.

Fanatics has been consistently linked with a deal to acquire a US-based sportsbook operator to jumpstart its sports betting operations but Rubin poured cold water on these rumors.

“We have the team and the capital, but there’s no [sports betting] businesses at their current market value that I have any interest in buying,” Rubin said.

“We’ll grow organically and by M&A, but we’re not interested in any M&A in the US.”

Rubin continued: “In the US, the companies are losing so much money, they just aren’t attractive acquisition targets for us yet.

“Overseas, there’s much better businesses that could be interesting,” he added, in a nod to the potential destination for Fanatics M&A.

Despite the recent volatility in US sportsbook operator stocks, Rubin remained upbeat about Fanatic’s longer-term prospects.

“There’s been so much money lost in this business, but we will be deliberate and I’m bullish on it being one of our key long-term businesses,” he explained.

Fanatics’ journey into sports betting has been largely under the radar, with the firm only showing its hand last year when it submitted a bid to obtain a New York sports betting license in August.

Fanatics partnered with US rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company on the all-star bid, but was ultimately frustrated in its efforts to open a sports betting operation in the Empire State, losing out on a license.

In October, Fanatics doubled down on its online gambling interests, registering trademarks to its ‘Fanatics Casino’ and ‘Fanatics Sportsbook’ with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Fanatics operates a multi-million-dollar multi-channel global sports merchandising business across 11 countries as well as an NFT marketplace business, Candy Digital.

In January, Fanatics acquired US-based trading card firm Topps for $500m and has recently bought clothing retailer Mitchell & Ness, with the $250m deal partially funded by Jay-Z.

Fanatics’ partners include all major US professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, PGA) and hundreds of collegiate and professional teams.

At an international level, the merchandiser has agreements with Manchester United, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, The FA, UEFA, NFL, NBA, and Formula One.

Rubin suggested these commercial avenues would aid Fanatics in its drive to move into sports betting.

“We can be the number one player in the world in that business [sports betting] in 10 years,” Rubin said.

“That does seem ambitious for someone who’s not in the business today, but our strategic advantages are that we are one of the best-known digital sports brands and we touch so many fans.

“We still have intentions of being in the ticketing and media businesses long term, but there’s no rush,” Rubin added.