There’s another one through the door, as Fanatics confirmed on Thursday that it will soon launch some form of prediction market offering in partnership with Crypto.com.
“Today on CNBC, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin announced our plans to enter the predictions market in partnership with Crypto.com,” a Fanatics spokesperson told SBC Americas. “We will have more specific details to share on timing in the coming weeks.”
Rubin first made the announcement in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen on Thursday.
Fanatics follows the leaders
Scant details are available as of the time of writing, including whether Fanatics will launch a standalone platform to offer event contracts, whether the markets on offer will include sports and which markets the new product will be available in. Rubin did note to Eisen that Fanatics is currently only in 23 states, leaving 27 other states where he believes customers want a product.
What we do know is that Fanatics will be the fifth online gaming operator to announce a plan to start offering sports event contracts, after FanDuel, Underdog, DraftKings and PrizePicks. Underdog has offered sports prediction markets in several states since September through a technology services provider with Crypto.com.
Since Flutter announced FanDuel’s partnership with CME Group in August, things have accelerated dramatically. For Fanatics, a challenger for third place in the U.S. online sports betting market, the opportunity to expand the horizons and grow the total addressable market was too good to pass up.
AGA still lists Fanatics as member
While other gambling companies such as BetMGM and Caesars strike a cautious tone on event contracts amid ongoing pushback from state gaming regulators, Fanatics is following the course charted by the leading sportsbooks and daily fantasy sports operators.
FanDuel and DraftKings announced at the start of this week that they have left the American Gaming Association (AGA) as they pursue expansion into sports contracts, noting in separate statements that AGA’s stance on prediction markets does not align with their strategic direction.
Both the AGA and Fanatics confirmed to SBC Americas that Fanatics is still an active member as of Thursday afternoon. The company is listed as a member on the AGA website, while FanDuel and DraftKings have been scrubbed from the list.
Crypto.com adds partner after partner
The first financial derivatives marketplace to start offering sports contracts last year, Crypto.com has added Fanatics to a roster of partners that has greatly expanded in recent months.
As well as Underdog, Crypto.com’s contracts are now available on Trump Media and Technology Group’s Truth Social platforms and via a new platform with U.S. social gaming company MyPrize. The company also recently agreed a deal to power a prediction market offering to be hosted on entertainment site Hollywood.com.
One state where Fanatics and Crypto.com’s prediction markets offering may not be available is Nevada. After a judge denied the latter company’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) in October, the state regulator said that Crypto.com would stop offering sports event contracts in the state pending the outcome of an appeal.
Rubin’s announcement on Thursday also comes as gaming regulators, including some in states where Fanatics offers sports betting, continue to warn licensees about getting involved in sports contracts. The day before Rubin’s comments, Maryland became the latest state to send written notice that offering sports event contracts, even in other states, could affect an operator’s state gaming license.
