Fanatics Sportsbook is debuting its beta product in Massachusetts just in time for Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in Boston.
The rollout officially got underway on Thursday after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved the operator for launch earlier this month.
Fanatics Sportsbooks will reach out to existing Fanatics merchandise customers and offer them an opportunity to play on the beta version of the app. There is even a promotional offer where these beta testers can wager $5 and receive $200 in bonus bets.
One promotional offer you will not see in the beta launch, at least for now, is any offer related to the merchandise people can buy on the Fanatics merchandise site. Ohio regulators requested Fanatics take down an in-store promotion for bonus bets with the purchase of merchandise last week.
At the recent SBC Summit North America event, Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King discussed the importance of utilizing the existing Fanatics ecosystem, particularly with the rewards program where bettors can earn Fan Cash. That cross-promotion working in the other direction, as it did with the Ohio promo, seems to be on hold for now.
Fanatics is now available in beta form in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Tennessee. With the PointsBet acquisition announced this month, Fanatics now has market access in several states but it is unclear how much time the process will take to transfer those licenses over to a Fanatics Sportsbook.
At Monday’s New York State Gaming Commission meeting, Executive Director Robert Williams said there would be no formal process to transfer the license but that key Fanatics stakeholders would need to be vetted and licensed before the Fanatics brand could launch.
