Fanatics Sportsbook Review
There’s a new fish in the sports betting pond — and it’s a big one. Fanatics Sportsbook is officially live. Yes, that’s the betting arm of the Fanatics sports apparel (and sports collectibles), which more or less owns the market. Yes, they’re a late entrant into the industry, but there’s reason to believe Fanatics actually has a chance to catch the top players like FanDuel, BetMGM, and others.
First of all, Fanatics has deep pockets and it’ll need them to compete in this industry which showers users with bonuses and spends mad on advertising. In 2022, Fanatics was valued at $31 billion. The company remains private, but an IPO has long been rumored. Off the back of sports apparel, the company has revenues hovering in the range of $7 billion per year.
Fanatics has already shown its appetite to spend big, buying up PointsBet for $225 million in 2023 — outspending DraftKings for the acquisition. This purchase afforded them extra state licenses to immediately go live in.
Second, Fanatics is well-connected. Because of its apparel store, the company has exclusive contracts with all the major sports leagues — NFL, NBA, MLB, and more. Founder and CEO of the company, Michael Rubin, is buddy-buddy with many major players and team owners. Not only that, but they’re connected to sports-loving fans through their store. That’s a database they can immediately market to in their sportsbook.
So does the Fanatics Sportsbook live up to the hype? That’s what we wanted to find out. We’re dropping our unfiltered opinions in this Fanatics review so stick with us for an honest look at the new game in town.
States Where Fanatics Sportsbook Offers Legal Betting?
The floodgates for legalized sports betting opened in 2018 when it became legal at the federal level. Since then, a whopping 38 states have opted to legalize sports wagering in one form or another. Some offer it strictly in-person at retail properties, others allow it via mobile. It differs from state to state really.
The thing is, Fanatics Sportsbook isn’t available in each of these states. They are an online-only bookie so that stops them from entering states that require in-person activity. And even in the states that do allow online wagering, Fanatics needs a license to operate — which isn’t always available.
As it stands, Fanatics Sportsbook is up and running in nine different states. Here’s a quick chart breaking it all down:
| State | Mobile Betting | Retail Betting |
| Colorado | ✅ | ✅ |
| Connecticut | ✅ | ✅ |
| Kentucky | ✅ | ✅ |
| Massachusetts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Maryland | ✅ | ✅ |
| Ohio | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tennessee | ✅ | ❌ |
| Virginia | ✅ | ✅ |
| West Virginia | ✅ | ✅ |
Expect Fanatics Sportsbook to infiltrate more states in 2024 and the years that follow. These guys are serious about gaining market share in this booming, big competitive landscape. That can only happen if they gain access to more markets.
Fanatics Sportsbook Features
Fanatics sports betting is par for the course. After trying out so many online sportsbook options, these all start to feel the same after a while — which is both good and bad news for Fanatics Sportsbook. Good because the sportsbook largely works like it’s supposed to. Bad because using Fanatics Sportsbook doesn’t stand out except in two areas.
The first is the on-site is the FanCash system. It’s their version of a rewards program, but with a twist we anticipate bettors will like. Every sports bet made earns users FanCash. The rate will be different per bet type, but here’s a glance at the earnings:
- Straight Bet: 1%
- Parlay: 3%
- Same Game Parlay: 5%
As an example, if you lay $100 on the Super Bowl moneyline, you’d get $1 in FanCash. Not only can this be exchanged for real cashback to use on the sportsbooks, but also in the regular Fanatics store. So for bettors that gamble enough, you can rack up a decent amount of “free” gear from Fanatics.
This hook-up with the Fanatics store is a feature no other sportsbook competitor can come close to matching. We would expect more integrations like that from Fanatics since it’s really the “ace up their sleeve.”
But wait, there’s one more stand-out feature that flies under the radar. If you bet at least $1 on an NFL game, you’ll be able to stream it right then and there on the Fanatics Sportsbook platform. Yes, live games on your phone for a fraction of the cost of, say, YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket. So far, this feature is exclusive to the NFL but we wouldn’t be surprised if it rolls out to more sports and leagues in due time.
Fanatics Sportsbook Mobile Betting
To get the most out of mobile betting at Fanatics, you’ll need to download the official Fanatics betting app. It’s available at Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play Store. It has scores of near-five star reviews and we can see why. The app is fast, easy to use, and as we said before, even supports live streaming.
A major reason for Fanatics success in e-commerce has been a personalized experience. The site collects data on its users, which it uses to curate products it’s most likely to be interested in buying. Fanatics is attempting to do the same with its sports betting app. So say you have a tendency to bet on the Lakers, your homepage will soon populate many odds for them. In our few days with the app, we definitely noticed the curated feed so we can only imagine it with months of use.
Another thing that caught our attention on the Fanatics Sportsbook mobile app was Apple Pay support. This made transferring funds in and out of the platform a complete breeze if you have an iPhone. We’ve yet to see wide support of Apple Pay by competitors so Fanatics sticks out here in a positive way.
Fanatics Sportsbook Promo Code
Just like any other bookie, lucrative sportsbook bonuses are routine at Fanatics. As of this publish date in late 2023, the bookmaker is offering $200 in bonus bets — completely free of cost. This deal is strictly for new sign-ups. To redeem, they just need to wager at least $10 on sports for five straight days and they’ll qualify for the promo. Each day, $40 in bonus bets are unlocked.
By the time you read this, Fanatics may have very well changed its offering as they regularly do. Furthermore, some states have unique promotions — especially if the Fanatics Sportsbook just launched there. To stay up to date, you’ll want to visit the Fanatics Sportsbook site directly and see what’s up for grabs.
Fanatics Sportsbook Customer Service
If you want to get in touch with Fanatics customer service, you have two options — live chat or email. Live chat can be accessed when logged in. There will be a chat support button that’ll begin a conversation. Representatives are available 24/7.
Emailing support@betfanatics.com is the other option. Response times are noticeably slower using email than live chat so if you have an urgent request, we recommend opening a chat instead.
Honestly, it would be great if Fanatics Sportsbook had a call-in option with a real person. We would knock them, but it seems to be a rarity in the industry so Fanatics isn’t alone in not offering it.
Top Sportsbooks
Live in a state where Fanatics Sportsbook is not available at? You have two options then. One, wait for them to gain a foothold in that state — if ever. There’s really no telling how long or short this process could be. Or option two, use an offshore betting site to get your gambling fix in the meantime. We recommend starting with one of the sites below. These are our top-rated bookies in our latest sportsbook reviews so our confidence is high in ‘em.
