Fanatics CEO on Being No. 1 in Sports Betting Soon: 'People Say That I am Nuts"
They're here....Fanantics appears geared up to take on the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings.
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe sent out the first warning shot a few weeks back....essentially stay off our turf.
Last last month, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said he planned to leave no stone unturned as they look to make a huge splash in the legal U.S. sports betting market. He's basically late to the party.
“We’ll be in every major state other than New York, where you can’t make money,” Rubin said at a Sports Business Journal World Congress of Sports event in October.
“FanDuel is America’s number one sports book by a wide margin,” Howe proclaimed last Wednesday. It's actually the only profitable of the sports betting companies regulated in the U.S.
To Throw more gasoline on the fire, Howe added "almost 90% of the operators have a sub-2% share of the market".
Fanatics is certainly no newcomer business. They are among the largest retailers in sports merchandise.
If anyone is going to compete with the likes of a FanDuel, it might very well be Fanatics.
Heading into the Christmas weekend, Rubin (pictured below) backed up his earlier words.
“People say that I’m nuts saying I think we’ll be the number one player in the space a decade from now, but I do think that.”
BetMGM Partners With the Nashville Predators
BetMGM has agreed to become the official sports betting partner of the Nashville Predators after reaching a multi-year deal with the NHL franchise. Under the terms of the agreement, BetMGM will receive branded signage throughout Bridgestone Arena.
Ohio Reeling Them In
Bally Bet, Betway Sportsbook (Digital Gaming Corporation), and Underdog Sportsbook have all been approved for sports betting licenses in the Buckeye State.
There is a bit of an irony that a state doling out sports gambling licenses as if they were candy would be so quick to deny the likes of PlayUp while fining Penn National.
Could Vermont Become the First Sports Betting State Without a Tax?
A Vermont study committee recommended that the state legalize sports betting but declined to suggest a minimum tax rate over concerns of underestimating potential revenue gains. That would certainly be a first.
Vermont is among the last of the New England states to legalize sports betting.
Incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D-Chittenden, appears receptive to the idea.
“The Senate has a history of supporting the creation of a legal framework for sports betting in Vermont,” Baruth said Thursday. “A regulated market would provide consumer protection in a way the illicit market currently does not. We are encouraged that the committee came to a consensus on recommendations for a path forward and we look forward to continuing discussions in the coming biennium.”
There is resistance however, primarily House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington.
“Historically the House has been concerned with the protections and supports for gambling addiction and its mental health impacts,” Krowinski said Thursday. “I have not had the opportunity to read the report yet, but I look forward to the committees of jurisdiction reviewing it and learning more about the recommendations to address those issues.”
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
