The Tuesday Line: Fanatics Sportsbook Launches Newest State, NY On Tap
Here’s today’s quick rundown in the world of US gambling. ICYMI, here’s yesterday’s roundup.
Fanatics continues new market launches
Fanatics has been launching into new markets for sportsbook and casino with regularity to start the new year. The newest state is Indiana, where Fanatics Sportsbook went live today. It’s the 14th state for the online sports betting operator.
Fanatics also expects to go live for New York sports betting later this week.
Some other launches/relaunches since the start of the year:
Pennsylvania sports betting and casino
Michigan sports betting and casino
Iowa
Vermont
The launches come as Fanatics migrates users from PointsBet, which it acquired last summer. Fanatics should also launch along with the rest of the industry when North Carolina sports betting goes live next month.
It will be interesting to see how Fanatics does when the company can focus fully on growth rather than the logistics of migration and ramping up.
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Stop citing this lobbying group
This isn’t worth a whole post so it goes in a roundup. The media, the gambling industry and policymakers should stop giving oxygen to the Campaign for Fairer Gambling unless it pivots on its communications strategy.
I am still gobsmacked that the founder is implying that anyone in the regulated US sports betting industry wants the offshore market to continue unabated, or that this quote was even published by a site. “We hope America’s legal gambling sector and its trade groups will reconsider and join us in calling for a federal crackdown on illegal gambling.” Full thing here.
What is anyone “reconsidering?” Literally everyone in the regulated US online gambling space would fully welcome enforcement to stop offshore gambling from happening here. The American Gaming Association and operators all agree on this topic. It’s a narrative with no basis.
Have online gambling companies used the presence of offshore betting as part of a strategy for lobbying for legalization? Sure! No one is denying that. But that’s because there’s a lack of will or ability to stop offshore in a meaningful way, not because legal operators want it to exist. I’d love to hear an actual plan for how offshore goes away.
CFG also commissioned “research” on offshore vs. legal sports betting with a methodology that is unknown and already has reason to doubt it. I saw this reported in trade publications and mainstream media with little pushback.
Anyway, please think twice before you do business with or cite this group, or at the very least, interrogate what they are telling you more closely. Thanks for attending my TED Talk.
Quick hitters
Underdog is reportedly stopping fantasy vs. the house in North Carolina, where it plans to be a sports betting operator.
Massachusetts beat its own projections on sports betting tax revenue.
The PGA Tour joined the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising.
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