Fanatics will be the new platform provider for the United Arab Emirates Lottery and the country’s first approved iGaming operator, in what is its first gaming expansion outside the U.S. and its first entry into the lottery sector anywhere.
Fanatics announced on Monday a new strategic joint venture with Momentum Group, separate subsidiaries of which run the UAE Lottery platform and the Play 971 online gambling site. Fanatics will supply its betting and casino technology to those licensed UAE platforms, which will officially fall under the joint venture umbrella.
The stated aim is to grow Momentum’s existing licensed commercial gaming activities in the UAE, which includes lottery, online casino, sportsbook, and content websites, and “expand access to world-class regulated gaming products in the UAE.”
Who is Fanatics new partner, Momentum Group?
Momentum Group is an Abu Dhabi-headquartered entertainment, technology, and commercial gaming company. Its subsidiaries, The Game LLC and Coin Technology Projects LLC, run the UAE Lottery and Play 971, respectively.
The Game LLC was awarded the UAE Lottery tender in July 2024 by the UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), when the body was led by now-International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) CEO Kevin Mullaly.
Under Mullaly’s leadership, the GCGRA rolled out a full gaming regulatory framework with the aim of building a fulsome and competitive market. Weeks after Mullaly left the regulator, Play 971 launched in the UAE last November as the country’s first fully licensed and regulated iGaming site. It later added sports betting to the mix earlier this year.
The UAE’s only approved online sportsbook or casino, it is operated by Coin Technology Projects, which has the same listed address as The Game.
The GCGRA, the CEO of which is now ex-Crown Resorts Chief Executive Ciarán Carruthers, lists just one other licensed gaming operator as of the time of writing: the in-development land-based Wynn Al Marjan Island resort, set to open in 2027 with a brick-and-mortar casino attached.
The Game pivots from proprietary tech to Fanatics
Instead of partnering with a lottery technology provider, The Game founded its UAE Lottery operations on an in-house, proprietary technology platform that it built from scratch, offering content from providers such as its third-party content supplier and aggregator EQL Games.
Now, it appears to have abandoned that approach in favor of leaning on the platform of a high-level operator in sports betting and iGaming. Fanatics B2C operations in the U.S. have grown rapidly, but it has no existing footprint in the lottery sector, nor any operational markets outside the U.S.
Fanatics said that GCGRA approved the change in control of Momentum’s existing licensed entities. Fanatics branding will not be used on the B2C platform, so do not expect to see “Fanatics Emirates” or similar anytime soon.
For Fanatics, it is a B2B partnership that gives the company access to a market it believes has strong potential for growth. The company has spoken airily in the past of potential international expansion, with leaders citing Canada as a future possibility. For now, B2B operations in the new UAE market, and a first step into the lottery sector to boot, are the starting point for planned global growth.
“The UAE is establishing one of the most thoughtfully regulated commercial gaming markets in the world, and Momentum has demonstrated what a responsible, credible operation within it looks like,” said Fanatics Gaming President Conor Grant. “We are entering this market for the long term, committed to building something genuinely category-defining together.”
Momentum Group Chief Operating Officer Scott Burton added that the joint venture is a reflection of the confidence his company has in the UAE’s regulated commercial gaming market. “Combining Momentum’s regional experience with Fanatics’ global product capability creates a partnership well placed to grow alongside this market for the long term,” he added.
SBC Americas reached out to Momentum and The Game seeking more insight into the joint venture, but did not yet receive a response.
