Ohio sports betting received a boost, with Fanatics online sportsbook officially launching in four states. Other than Ohio, Fanatics app will move out of beta phase to permit sports betting in Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

The Fanatics Sportsbook is set to feature a full suite of sports betting products. The release states users will have everything from “moneyline bets, to spread bets, over-unders, player props, live in-game betting markets, and the always popular Same Game Parlays.”

Scot McClintic, Chief Product Officer commented: “After 6 months of beta testing, we are excited to officially launch the Fanatics Sportsbook product to the public.”

He went on to say, “We are focused on addressing the challenges customers face by providing a quicker, simpler, and more satisfying sports betting experience. Our careful approach to developing a long-term product has allowed us to reshape what customers expect from a sportsbook. With the Fanatics Sportsbook now established and fully owned, customers can look forward to unmatched speed in updates, delivery, and innovation.”

Fanatics’ recent acquisitions of both Banach Technology and PointsBet will be utilized in the application. The “best parts” of the PointsBet tech platform will power the sports betting engine, as well as leveraging the quantitative trading models from Banach Technology in its risk and trading platform. All market making and trading will be done in-house by the company.

The area of main intrigue and often contention was the previously announced FanCash rewards program. It interlinks the Fanatics core retail and sportswear business with the online sports betting application. The strapline for the rewards program is “FanCash – The Currency of Sport”.

The announcement explains: “Our vision is a program that rewards fans with access to experiences that money can’t buy. FanCash, the backbone of the Fanatics loyalty program, can be converted dollar-for-dollar into Bonus Bets”. It can also be used to purchase team merchandise. The following terms apply:

  • 5% FanCash on Same Game Parlay bets
  • 3% FanCash on Parlay bets
  • 1% FanCash on Straight bets

As the typical hold by bet type for an operator increases, so too does the reward provided to the bettor.

Other notable features touted by the company are:

  • Curated sportsbook experience: a Fanatics Discover page, which has tailored top picks including marquee games, trending bets, promos and rewards.
  • Transparency: The ability to track through the withdrawal process and seeing where the money is.
  • Search: the sportsbook will have a full functioning search functionality, including autocomplete, recent searches, synonym/alias and linking to leagues, events and markets.
  • A connected ecosystem: Fanatics proposition is unique given its link to an online retail sportswear presence. The release states the company aims to build a “one-of-a-kind sports ecosystem where fans can go to one location and buy team merchandise, find collectibles and place a wager on their favorite teams”.

Through the company’s $150 million acquisition of PointsBet, the Fanatics gained market access to several states. Most notably, it has a coveted mobile sports betting spot in New York where it plans a roll out in the near future. Surprisingly, the company was not in the Kentucky sports betting initial short list of applicants.