Fanatics Sportsbook Acquires PointsBet for $150 Million
By Robert Linnehan in Sports Betting News
Updated: February 22, 2024 at 12:39 pm ESTPublished:
- Fanatics Sportsbook makes huge splash with the acquisition of PointsBet’s U.S. businesses
- The deal is worth $150 million, according to reports
- Fanatics now gains access to PointsBet’s 14 states in the U.S.
Fanatics Betting and Gaming announced Sunday night that it has entered into an agreement to acquire PointsBet’s U.S. assets for $150 million.
Through the deal, PointsBet will be able to keep its Australian and Canadian based assets. Rumors of a potential deal between the two companies began to swirl last week and eyebrows were raised when PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken suddenly cancelled a keynote discussion at SBC Summit North America.
PointsBet shareholders will vote on the acquisition during its June 2023 shareholder meeting.
Fanatics Gains More U.S. Market Access
PointsBet will retain its proprietary iGaming, sports betting, and racing platform in the deal.
“Fanatics and PointsBet are excited to enter into an agreement for Fanatics Betting and Gaming to acquire PointsBet’s U.S. business. While there are still several steps in the process to complete the acquisition, both parties are confident in the outcome. Fanatics Betting and Gaming and PointsBet will provide further details of the proposed deal and timely updates in the coming week,” the companies announced in a joint statement Sunday night.
A joint statement from Fanatics Betting & Gaming and PointsBet: pic.twitter.com/4sNAWzUmp5
— PointsBet Communications (@PB_Comms) May 15, 2023
The timeline for the full acquisition extends into 2024, according to an announcement from PointsBet.
The proposed transaction will be divided into two stages. The initial completion is expected to happen by Aug. 31, 2023, with Fanatics Betting and Gaming acquiring the entities that own and operate PointsBets business in at least three states. PointsBet will hand over access to three more states on a rolling basis until all U.S. entities are acquired by Fanatics Betting and Gaming by May 2024 at the latest.
PointsBet has U.S. market access in 14 states, including New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Fanatics Betting and Gaming are currently operational in Ohio and Tennessee, just completing beta testing last week, and have plans to be live in Massachusetts and Maryland by mid-June.
New York, the State That Got Away
New York is undoubtedly a market Fanatics Betting and Gaming has had its eyes on since 2021. Kambi, Fanatics, and PENN Entertainment submitted a bid package for one of the nine available New York online sports betting licenses in 2021.
The New York State Gaming Commission did not accept the bid package, but did accept a package that included PointsBet to operate in the Empire State. PointsBet has struggled to maintain a position as one of the top-five operators in the state, consistently being outperformed by DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, BetMGM and Rush Street Interactive.
The Fanatics sportsbook now has an entry point into the state and it’s a good bet to assume that New York will be one of the first three states the company receives access to before football season begins.
Regulatory Writer and Editor
Rob covers all regulatory developments in online gambling. He specializes in US sports betting news along with casino regulation news as one of the most trusted sources in the country.