Fanatics Sportsbook Opens At FedEx Field Thanks To Washington Commanders Partnership
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Fanatics Enters Maryland
On Jan. 20, Fanatics Sportsbook opened the doors of a retail sportsbook inside FedEx Field, the home stadium of the Washington Commanders thanks to a partnership with the team.
The partnership makes Fanatics the official sports betting partner of the team and the company’s first entry into the legal sports betting market, having just recently launched the Fanatics Betting and Gaming division of their company.
“Our first retail location, with adjacency to the Commanders Team store, is a physical representation of what Fanatics will deliver to sports fans all over North America,” Fanatics Betting and Gaming Chief Business Officer Ari Borod said. “We are rolling out our platform first at retail and we will have more exciting news to share in the coming months as we bring to market new mobile technology designed to improve the betting experience for sports fans.”
Mobile sports betting in Maryland launched in November 2022 – Fanatics was one of several operators that secured a license to take mobile sports wagers.
The first sportsbook inside an NFL stadium 👀
This morning, the @Fanatics Sportsbook at FedExField officially opened! pic.twitter.com/Ymb86w0eze
— FedExField (@FedExField) January 20, 2023
A Look At Fanatics Sportsbook at FedEx Field
The retail sportsbook is located next to the Washington Commanders Team Store which is also operated by Fanatics, a combination dubbed a “Super Fan experience.” Commanders fans can purchase gear, wager, and watch in one area.
The sportsbook is a 5,000 square foot retail area, equipped with eight betting windows, 21 kiosks, two LED video walls, and 38 TV monitors.
This is the first retail sportsbook inside an NFL stadium. BetMGM announced a similar partnership last year with the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium though the retail sportsbook is not located inside the stadium.
Fanatics now offers odds and viewing options on all sports, not just the NFL. Note that per NFL rules, stadiums home to sportsbooks are not allowed to take bets on home game days. The sportsbook will instead be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. for fans to place bets. On game days, the sportsbook will still be open for dining but not wagering.
This is the fourth in-stadium sportsbook in the greater Washington D.C. area – it joins Audi Field, Capital One Arena, and Nationals Park.
He’s IN@94yne is going to the Pro Bowl! pic.twitter.com/wjfYxd1vTL
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 19, 2023
The Future of Fanatics
In October of last year, shortly after the company announced its move into the sports betting space, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin announced his plan for the company in the coming months.
“In the betting business, we’re going to start launching in multiple states in January,” Rubin said at the 2022 CAA World Congress of Sports. “We’ll be in every major state, other than New York where you can’t make money, by next football season.”
So far, in addition to Maryland, it has a sports betting license in both Ohio and Massachusetts. It has not yet launched in Ohio, though it has a partnership with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Cleveland Guardians to do so; representatives told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) that it would be ready for the online launch in the state in March.
It also has a license application pending approval in Pennsylvania and five other states.
In other news, Fanatics has reportedly been in talks to acquire BetParx, though nothing has been confirmed by the company. If this is true, this helps them achieve leverage to gain market access to various states where BetParx operates.
