Sports betting giant Fanatics Sportsbook has launched its online sports wagering operations in Kansas. The latest US regulated market entry marks the 17th state included in the operator’s portfolio since the acquisition of PointsBet in October 2023.
Acquisition of PointsBet Triggered Expansion:
As Sports Handle reports, PointsBet had been present in the state for 18 months before the sale of the business. The company competed with five other sports books to generate $41.2 million of gross gaming revenues since September 2022 to October 2023. The same source reports that PointsBet saw the largest handle in the month of sale when it accepted $8.6 million in bets representing around 20% of the total amount handled over 18 months of operation in the Sunflower State.
The acquisition of PointsBet has helped the world’s leading sports and collectibles licensee to expand the sports wagering business. Indeed, corporation’s sports wagering vertical Fanatics Sportsbook has made 17 regulated US market entries in only five months, including five in February and two in March 2024. According to Sports Handle, the latest debut in Kansas comes just in time as the market currently sees the competition coping with fluctuations of gaming handle and revenues.
Migrating to Kansas Market in Time:
In this respect, competitor ESPN.BET, has reportedly generated monthly handles ranging from $14.7 million to $22.6 million over five months of the operator’s presence in Kansas. Likewise, Caesars has struggled to reach the peak handle of $15 million only once in the last 13 months, according to Sports Handle. The same source reports that Fanatics Sportsbook has been almost done with the migration of its platform to continue operations from the previous PointsBet’s market positions.
As reported, such migrations have been recently completed with the Illinois market as the last major market from the list of states featuring PointsBet’ replacement. However, Fanatics Sportsbook will bring the whole migration process closer to completion once it gets approval for a management services provider license by the state’s Gaming Board at the beginning of April 2024 to be eligible to offer mobile betting in Kansas to mark the second market entered in March 2024 after the North Carolina kick-off on 11 March.
Recent Pickleball Sponsorship Deal:
As reported by Sports Handle, Fanatics Sportsbook has recently entered North Carolina to make an impressive start with the title sponsorship deal for the North Carolina Cup. As the PPA Tour pickleball scheduled for the first week of April will feature the world’s best players, the market prospects seem bright for the sportsbook. “We are excited to sponsor the PPA Tour’s North Carolina Cup,” Ari Borod, Chief Business Officer, Fanatics Betting and Gaming reportedly said. “Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States and with the best pickleball athletes in the world coming to North Carolina, we can be a part of it in a big way.”