SBJ Betting: Fanatics ready to marry wagering with merchandise

Massachusetts gaming regulators cleared six sportsbooks this week to hold temporary licenses when the state opens to online wagering in the coming months: FanDuel, PointsBet, Betway, Bally’s, Betr and Boston-based DraftKings. They will join five sites tethered to casino operators: Caesars, BetMGM, Barstool, WynnBet and Fanatics.

Retail sports betting is slated to open at the end of the month at MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park Casino. State regulators have set early March as a goal for launching online sports wagering, but have not yet specified a date.

New Fanatics Sportsbook at FedExField will integrate company's array of offerings

When Fanatics Sportsbook opens the doors to its first retail location today at FedExField, it will mark the unveiling of a concept that could differentiate it from the dozens that it will follow into the U.S. sports betting business this year -- most of which have been left in the dust by a handful of well-capitalized, and now familiar, early movers.

At an NFL playoff watch party at the sportsbook on Saturday, customers who place a $100 bet will receive a voucher for a free NFL jersey, redeemable that day at a Fanatics pickup station on the stadium concourse.

When Fanatics launches its online sportsbook in the coming months, Maryland bettors can expect to earn rewards points that they can redeem for merchandise, while Fanatics shoppers can exchange “Fan Cash” points to place bets online or at FedExField, The jersey giveaway is an interesting twist on the most common tactic sportsbooks use to drive signups for online accounts, offering “risk free” bet credits to match initial deposits, bonuses tied to initial wager or even merch (like BetMGM has in giving away jerseys from NFL teams that they sponsor).

Fanatics sees it as a more lasting, and deeply integrated, play. “You’ve seen bet-and-get promos from a variety of companies,” said Ari Borod, chief business officer for Fanatics Sportsbook. “This is one that everything you’re betting and everything you’re getting is part of Fanatics. It's the first coming together of what our vision has always been, which is the one-stop-shop for the sports fan. You’ll be able to place a wager, get team merchandise and watch a game, all in one stop.”

Fanatics hoping for NFL game day in-venue betting rule changes down the road

Fanatics will open this weekend as the first sportsbook “within” an NFL stadium, a distinction that differentiates it from the 17,000-square-foot, two-story structure that BetMGM opened in September alongside the Great Lawn tailgate area at State Farm Stadium, home to the Cardinals.

The Cards and BetMGM went that route, in part, to comply with NFL rules that prohibit betting within, or adjacent to, an NFL stadium during games. Unless the NFL alters that rule before next season, Fanatics Sportsbook won’t be able to take bets on game days. It will be able to function as a bar, restaurant and betting lounge, promoting the Fanatics sportsbook brand and driving prospective bettors to the app, which will launch before next season. “The fact that you can’t bet in the stadium on game day doesn’t mean you can’t be open,” Borod said. “It just means you can’t take wagers.”

Fanatics Sportsbook will occupy about 5,000 square feet next to the Commanders’ Fanatics-operated team store, with each accessed separately from street level. With two LED video walls, 42 TV monitors, 24 betting kiosks and a full-service bar and restaurant, it follows a blueprint similar to other stadium and arena books -- albeit in a smaller space than most.

Like other retail sportsbooks at stadiums and arenas, it will look for ways to attract bettors who can easily wager from home, the office, their car or another sports bar. Borod said Fanatics and the Commanders considered a location within the vast ring of parking lots that surround FedExField in order to take bets on game days, but opted for differentiation -- with fingers crossed that league policy will loosen.

“It’s unique that it’s the first sportsbook that’s literally inside an NFL stadium,” Borod said. “There is something to that. As things evolve over time, I think we’ll be very happy with where it’s located. It just adds to the overall view of what we have that you can walk into a stadium, you can place a bet and you can buy a jersey. Could you have put something free standing in the parking lot as a way to get around NFL rules? Sure. I just ultimately don’t think that’s the best way to serve the fan.”

Sportsbook expected to be 'amplifier' of Fanatics' online business

Last month, we took an in-depth look at the place of the retail sportsbook in a business in which upwards of 90% of handle comes online in most states.

Borod explained Fanatics’ retail play with reasoning similar to that of other operators. A business with a door and places to sit and employees who answer questions and accept and pay out cash helps build the brand and, more importantly in the case of a gambling enterprise, establish trust. There’s also the strong brand connection that can come from a well-executed sports bar, where fans can gather to watch games.

But, because of the unique tie to the nation’s leading seller of team jerseys, caps and T-shirts, Borod sees an opportunity to use a retail sportsbook in ways other operators cannot, taking a page from the loyalty programs of Caesars and BetMGM, but with an even larger database, more heavily populated by avid sports fans.

“If you get that customer in there and they are part of the overall Fanatics experience, that’s a customer who hopefully will be a lot stickier,” Borod said. “I have a loyalty card that I can use while I’m at the retail sportsbook. It also translates to my online sportsbook. And I also can get discounts on merch in the store right next door. They’re now a player in the Fanatics ecosystem. I really think having a retail footprint and something you can touch and feel is going to be an overall amplifier of our online business.”

Interesting nuggets around micro-betting from the NFL Wild Card round

Recent numbers from the opening of the NFL playoffs from micro-betting software provider Simplebet offered a few insights into how bettors are coming around to those wagers, which offer odds on the outcome of individual drives and plays.

• Simplebet took 175,000 bets totaling $2.3 million in the first half of the Bills-Dolphins game, which began a Sunday tripleheader.

• The early resolution of Monday night’s Cowboys-Bucs game did not dissuade those who were fiddling with in-game wagers, as 24% of handle from the game came in the fourth quarter.

• Bettors got caught up in the momentum of the Jaguars as they chased down the Chargers on the way to the third largest comeback ever in an NFL playoff game. There was $300,000 in handle on the Jaguars’ final drive, with 70% of bets predicting they’d score to take the lead after trailing 27-0 in the second quarter.

Breaking out individual sportsbook handles from November

Listed below are handle shares in the states that release figures by individual sportsbooks. The data is for November -- the most recent month available. Arizona has not reported.

How should you read this? The column on the far right is the combined share (from all the states listed). It’s taken against total handle -- including books not in the top seven that we list (and why it does not add up to 100).

New York, Montana, Arkansas up in handle for December vs. November

Here are the early December sports betting handle numbers by jurisdiction. New York, Montana and Arkansas were the only states this far to show growth over November. 

Delaware saw sharp drops compared to November 2022 and December 2021.