Fanatics Sportsbook joined the online MD sports betting market Thursday.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission made the announcement via a news release.
Fanatics previously came into the in-person Maryland sports betting market in February via its sportsbook at FedEx Field.
Similar to recent state launches in Ohio, Tennessee and Massachusetts, Fanatics’ initial Maryland launch will be for existing retail customers only.
Fanatics expands in US
Fanatics said it intended to be in those four jurisdictions by mid-June, and has successfully done so.
The operator has greater ambitions, though, given its pending acquisition of PointsBet’s US business for $150 million. Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said the operator intends to be in 12-to-15 jurisdictions by the start of the 2023 NFL season.
The acquisition of PointsBet’s existing market access suddenly makes that a realistic goal.
Fanatics saves with PointsBet deal?
Fanatics Betting & Gaming CEO Matt King explained the importance of the PointsBet deal in terms of saving money on initial licensing fees.
“The reality is we already have market access in most of the states where PointsBet had access,” King said. “What we’re really saving by doing the PointsBet deal is there were upfront license fees that PointsBet had already paid, that if we went into those markets as a second-over, we were going to have to pay them again.
“So we were really able to save tens of millions of dollars worth of upfront license fees by leveraging PointsBet’s footprint versus going at it with a new footprint.”
MD sports betting market at a glance
Fanatics became the 10th online sports betting operator to go live in Maryland, joining:
- Barstool
- Betfred
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- PointsBet
- SuperBook
Fanatics, PointsBet both live in MD
SuperBook became the ninth operator to join the Maryland market on April 13.
It is unclear at this juncture how Fanatics plans to address the PointsBet brand in states where both sportsbooks are operating.
PointsBet shareholders still need to approve the move via a vote in late June.
FanDuel MD sports betting power
Maryland sportsbooks combined for $328.4 million in handle during April, leading to almost $3.9 million in tax revenue for its public education fund.
FanDuel has been the dominant sportsbook since Maryland’s legal online launch on Nov. 23, 2022.
Over that span, FanDuel has a 49% handle share and a 56% revenue share. DraftKings is second with a 32% handle share and a 29% revenue share.