PointsBet Shareholders Approve Sale of U.S. Assets to Fanatics

• PointsBet shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a sale of its U.S. assets to Fanatics
• The deal will be for $225 million
• 99.16% of shareholder votes were in favor of the sale

PointsBet’s U.S. assets are officially on their way to Fanatics after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the company’s proposed $225 million deal at its June 30 meeting.

The sports apparel giant triumphed in its bid to purchase PointsBet’s U.S. assets and their coveted sports betting licenses in 14 states.

It ends a wild several weeks for PointsBet, which suddenly found itself in a bidding war over its U.S. resources. The company considered several offers from Fanatics Sportsbook and DraftKings before ultimately backing the Fanatics after the operator increased its overall bid to $225 million, $30 million more than DraftKing’s 11th hour bid of $195 million to purchase the assets.

‘Pivotal moment’ for Fanatics Betting and Gaming

PointsBet shareholders approved the purchase with 99.16% of shareholder votes in the affirmative.

A Fanatics company spokesperson issued a statement after the approval, describing the sale as a “pivotal moment for Fanatics Betting and Gaming.”

“We are thrilled that the shareholders of PointsBet Holdings Inc. voted to approve our acquisition of U.S. businesses of PointsBet. We moved decisively to close the deal and we look forward to working with our friends at PointsBet Holdings Inc. to finalize the remaining acquisition details,” a Fanatics spokesperson said in released statement. “This is a pivotal moment for Fanatics Betting and Gaming that will accelerate our growth in the legal online sports betting, advance deposit wagering and iGaming markets in the United States. Pending regulatory approvals in the various states in which PointsBet operates, we will have more details to share in the coming weeks on how the acquisition of PointsBet US businesses will bring to life our unique vision for Fanatics Betting and Gaming.”

Fanatics will now gain market access into several massive sports betting markets through the deal. PointsBet has U.S. market access in 14 states, including New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Fanatics Betting and Gaming is currently operational in Maryland, Ohio, and Tennessee.

What’s Next for Fanatics?

While the license transfers won’t happen immediately, expect the aggressive sports betting operator to quickly try and establish itself in the new markets. New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are four of the largest sports betting markets in the country and Fanatics has expressed its desire to be live in as many markets as possible before the year is out.

At a May meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission, Chairman Brian O’Dwyer revealed that there will be no simple transfer of PointsBet’s New York online sports betting license to Fanatics. Fanatics will have to become the new outright owner of the license, which O’Dwyer said requires complete staff review and commission approval before becoming final.

According to the acquisition details provided from the original Fanatics/PointsBet deal in May, and assuming they will still say the same for this deal, Fanatics will begin acquiring PointsBet assets for three states by August 2023. It’s unknown what state assets will first be turned over to Fanatics.

O’Dwyer did say that Fanatics had a stated goal of taking control of PointsBet’s New York online sports betting license by the upcoming NFL season.

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. If Fanatics is hoping for a New York launch by football season the state would have to be included in the initial asset turnover.