When will Fanatics Sportsbook launch in Illinois? Timeline, likely promo offer, more

Fanatics Sportsbook, a new operator in the U.S. sports betting space, started over two decades ago as an e-commerce company. Over the ensuing 20 years Fanatics has built up a brand that encompasses every aspect of sports -- from jerseys and hats to wagering to memorabilia and everything in between.

Most recently, Fanatics agreed to a $150 million acquisition deal of the US operations for PointsBet, the innovative Australian sports betting platform.

While many of the details have yet to be announced, the acquisition would transfer ownership of the PointsBet Illinois LLC to Fanatics, thus giving the upstart sports wagering platform entry into one of the biggest gambling markets in the country. The deal is expected to close on Aug. 31, with Fanatics launching in three states at a time until May 2024.

We’ll highlight some of the recent developments and provide a breakdown of the acquisition in the paragraphs below.

TLDR: The Fanatics-PointsBet deal won’t close until Aug. 31, and Fanatics will acquire operating rights in three states at a time until May 2024 at the latest. So it will launch in Illinois in that window.

Fanatics Sportsbook’s launch in the Land of Lincoln is implicitly tied to the $150 million PointsBet US acquisition that was reported in mid-May. The Australian company is already operational in Illinois with PointsBet Illinois LLC and Fanatics gains easy entry into that market and 14 other states, with the purchase. PointsBet shareholders will vote on the transaction during a meeting in late June, which could potentially coincide with the Fanatics launch in Maryland and Massachusetts.

The two key parts of the timeline are that the deal will close on Aug. 31 and that Fanatics will acquire operating rights in three states on a rolling basis after August, because each state has regulatory hurdles to clear. From the agreement document:

The Initial Completion is expected to be completed on or about August 31, 2023. The “Sunset Date” for the Initial Completion and Subsequent Completion to occur is February 2024, with potential extension to May 2024. At the Initial Completion, Purchaser will acquire the entities that own and operate PointsBet’s business in at least three (3) states, with others following on a rolling basis (the “Initial U.S. States”).

This means that Fanatics will be live in a handful of states by this football season, and in all of the PointsBet states by spring 2024. The agreement doesn’t specify anything about the order of states they will pursue, but you would expect Illinois to be one of the first states Fanatics wants to get done given its population and betting handle.

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has declared his ambitions to eventually become the largest sportsbook in the country and this acquisition would help them reach that goal. Fanatics currently offers limited online sports betting in Tennessee and Ohio with expansion plans for Maryland and Massachusetts slated for late-June.

With the purchase of PointsBet though, Fanatics becomes the defacto fourth largest sportsbooks in the Prairie State, with PointsBet posting a total handle of $631.5 million in 2022 in the state.

From a revenue perspective, PointsBet controls 7.3 percent of the market, fourth behind, FanDuel DraftKings and BetRivers.

While there isn’t a current timeline for the Illinois launch, the acquisition of PointsBet opens up the massive sports betting market of Illinois for Fanatics.

Right now Fanatics offers sports betting in two states, Tennessee and Ohio, with a slated launch for an additional two states, Massachusetts and Maryland, in late June. In those states, they have their own licenses -- they don’t need anything from PointsBet.

However, with the purchase of PointsBet, Fanatics can go live in 15 states, including Illinois, over the next year.

Since the mobile app is still in the beta testing phase, the reviews are somewhat limited. However, early indications from users highlight the easy-to-use layout, though some users reported multiple crashes. Despite some of the glitches, uninstalling and re-downloading the app remedies most of the technical issues.

As it currently stands, they’re somewhat limited on player props but they have solid options on parlay wagers. Some users in Ohio were very happy with the content and user interface of the app and noted that it quickly became their go-to for daily sports betting.

Additionally, the withdrawal tracker gives users real-time updates on their cash so they exactly when it will be deposited into their account.

Notably, the sportsbook app is only available to a limited number of users currently as Fanatics is in the beta testing stage in both Tennessee and Ohio.

• May 2023 -- 4.3 stars (18 reviews)

While Fanatics is not yet available in Illinois, players in Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee can get $150 in bonus bets when they place a $5 real-money wager.

Currently, Fanatics is in beta testing in Ohio and Tennessee and fully live in Massachusetts.

Users can claim this promotion by clicking the module displayed below - no Fanatics Sportsbook promo code is required.

Bettors in participating states, specifically Ohio and Tennessee, can claim this promotion by clicking the module above and inputting the relevant information.

To become a part of the beta testing, users at least 21 years or older need to input their email and the operating system for their device to get an exclusive download link for their phone.

While these are potentially subject to change following the completion of the deal, PointsBet offers Illinois users a diverse range of promotions, with many hinged on their unique points betting format.

While it’s not totally clear how the transition will work, both Fanatics and PointsBet have offers for new and existing customers.

Currently, Fanatics promotion is only available in Ohio and Tennessee while the PointsBet offer is available in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

While there is no Fanatics Sportsbook welcome bonus for Illinois at the moment, there is a promotion beta testing in Ohio and Tennessee that gives new users $150 in bonus bets when they place a cash wager of at least $5.

Unlike many other promotions, this offer is not dependent on how the user’s first bet settles. Many welcome promotions present as a generous bonus bet allotment but only distribute said bonus bets if the user’s first wager goes south. With this promotion, new users will get their bonus bets as soon as they put down their real-money wager.

It’s unlikely, given that Fanatics is acquiring PointsBet mostly for market access. They will create

Unlike many other offers, users will get their bonus bets as soon as they place their cash wager.

While nothing has been solidified on the retail front currently, based on the structure of online sports betting in Illinois, it is likely that Fanatics will maintain the retail partnership with Hawthorne Race Course.

Currently, the timetable for the total completion of the deal is February, 2024 with a possible extension until May. PointsBet shareholders will vote on the structure of the deal during a meeting in late June and early reporting has indicated that the first portion of the deal is likely to be completed before or around August 31 of this year.