Fanatics Betting & Gaming has had an impactful 2024 in the U.S. sports betting market. Could Canada be its next port of call?

“We definitely want to be in Canada,” Chief Operating Officer Scot McClintic told Canadian Gaming Business in an interview this month. “Will we be in Canada? Yes. It’s all just a timing question.”

Timing has been key to Fanatics’ progress. McClintic moved into the role of COO in October; before that, he was the company’s chief product officer. He suggests the secrets of the brand’s success are the time and care it took to get its platform right before ramping up in the U.S. He and the product and tech teams painstakingly iterated to develop an offering that would resonate with sports fans, casual bettors and wagering enthusiasts alike.

And when it finally struck, it left its mark.

By the time Fanatics’ $225 million USD ($322 million CAD) acquisition of PointsBet’s U.S. business was complete, the gaming arm of the ubiquitous sports merchandise retailer had completed what is says was the fastest state-by-state rollout in U.S. online sports betting history. It is now available in 23 U.S. sports wagering jurisdictions and 95% of the addressable American online wagering market just two years after debuting. Its overall market share has grown from half a percent to around 5% in under 12 months and it has been labelled by experts including Eilers and Krejcik Gaming as “one of the challenger brands capable of making a dent in the U.S. duopoly” of FanDuel and DraftKings.

Fanatics focused on consolidation, then expansion

Of course, while product is key, having brand recognition as the most well-known sports merchandise company doesn’t hurt matters.

Fanatics calls itself “the first true sports brand” to enter the sports betting space and it credits a strong online footprint in merchandise for helping it understand user behavior better than its rivals in the gaming space. That has been boosted by features such as the FanCash loyalty program, wherein customers earn rewards at a healthy rate and can redeem them not only on bets like most sportsbooks or hospitality experiences like legacy land-based gaming brands, but also on merchandise, autographed paraphernalia and more.

That would seem to position it well for potential Canadian expansion, too. The brand is an official partner of the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s only NBA team, and  if you look at the label on your Canadian pro sports team apparel of choice, you’ll likely see the Fanatics name.

But product remains top of mind, particularly with a product guy at heart like McClintic installed as COO heading into 2025. He notes that whether it’s looking at the Ontario licensing opportunity or the potential that a regulated open Alberta market offers, going into any expansion outside U.S. borders with the best offering possible is crucial.

“We’ve got to figure out the healthy tension between expanding and product development in the jurisdictions where we’re already live,” he adds. “In the first half of next year, we’re laser-focused on making sure we’re developing the product more and more and more and more. And then there will be a time in the very near future where we’ll say, ‘OK, this product is now ready to a point where we can simultaneously continue to push it forward and then also expand internationally.’ International, you’re talking about different currencies, different terminology. We don’t take a decision like that lightly.

“So, from our perspective, it’s let’s make sure we continue to nail the basics, then nail the series of features we’re going to roll out. Then, once we’re at that point, go international, including Canada… Canada is definitely on the docket, but not in the first six months of next year.”