NY Regulator Approves Fanatics as the Successor of PointsBet’s License

Earlier this year, Fanatics Betting and Gaming acquired PointsBet’s US assets as the latter company announced its exit from America. The latter company sold its US-facing business for $225 million, which it plans to use to fatten up its cash reserves and pay millions in capital returns to shareholders.

In the meantime, Fanatics secured a shot at New York’s lucrative betting market. Since PointsBet’s US business had a license to operate in the state, the former company hoped that the license would be transferred to Fanatics following the acquisition.

Luckily for Fanatics, this is exactly what happened as the regulator just greenlit the move.

After another meeting, the New York State Gaming Commission decided to formally approve Fanatics Sportsbook as the successor of the license that was previously held by PointsBet.

The entire process took a few weeks as the regulator wanted to carefully investigate the M&A agreement following its finalization. Eventually, the authority allowed Fanatics to also acquire the coveted license.

Fanatics Thanked the Commission

Following the finalization of the deal, Fanatics Betting and Gaming issued a statement on the matter, confirming that the New York State Gaming Commission has approved of the PointsBet New York acquisition.

Fanatics thanked the regulator for its hard work and said that it is looking forward to working with the New York State Gaming Commission to bring the Fanatics experience to New Yorkers.

We would like to thank the commissioners and staff of the New York State Gaming Commission for their time and effort in delivering us some great news today.  We look forward to working with the staff of the New York State Gaming Commission to bring the Fanatics Sportsbook to the largest sports wagering state in the US.

Fanatics statement

After Fanatics acquired PointsBet, it rebranded the operator’s app as PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience, keeping its old identity while also marking its new ownership. The refreshed app now features the Fanatics branding.

The PointsBet app in New York is expected to undergo a similar treatment. Eventually, Fanatics will try to make a formal switch from the PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience platform to the official Fanatics one. In the meantime, Fanatics is preparing to enter the world of iGaming and launch Fanatics Casino in US states where gambling is legal in late 2023 or early 2024. The company is optimistic about the launch and believes that the new app will attract many customers.