Fanatics Casino may debut in Pennsylvania in early 2024. At some point after that, the online casino operator’s parent company, Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG), expects to offer iGaming as a standalone app. That’s notable for FBG because its parent company is best known as a sports merchandise etailer.
Relatedly, FBG has been concentrating on optimizing the Fanatics Sportsbook product for the past year, FBG CPO Scot McClintic told Bonus on Dec. 13.
Now, FBG can shift some of that focus to online casino capabilities, he said.
Meanwhile, FBG took the unusual route of launching the first Fanatics Casino in West Virginia on Nov. 16.
In previous years, operators have preferred to debut their sites in the more populous states of Michigan or New Jersey.
However, even residents of the Keystone State will see the product launch before Michiganders. FBG received regulatory approval from Michigan on Dec. 12. That approval is for a license transfer from PointsBet Holdings Limited (PointsBet Holdings Limited 0,45 -28,16%) to Fanatics. Fanatics Holdings bought PointsBet’s US businesses in August.
Shortly afterward, on Aug. 31, FBG rebranded the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia PointsBet apps to “PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience.”
Ever since then, FBG has been making that Fanatics experience bespoke.
Optimizing Fanatics Casino
As West Virginians can see, the Fanatics Casino app is embedded in the Fanatics Sportsbook.
However, that will change soon, McClintic told Bonus on Dec. 13.
During a product demonstration with Bonus and journalists from other Catena Media publications, McClintic said Fanatics Casino will eventually be a separate casino app.
However, FBG must first “nail” what it expects from its sports betting offering, then its embedded casino.
At the moment, “a lot” of Fanatics Casino players are crossovers from the sportsbook, he told Bonus.
Before offering a standalone Fanatics Casino app, FBG must offer more casino-specific options that appeal to casino-centric players.
McClintic emphasized:
It needs to be so good that it can live on its own.
What he has in mind is more products like Fanatics Blackjack, which FBG created in partnership with Boom Entertainment. McClintic demonstrated what he called the “premium feel” of the game, including how the cards turn over.
He told the assembled journalists that Fanatics Casino gamblers are “playing this game significantly more than any other game in the casino.”
That’s why McClintic said FBG is building branded roulette and multi-hand blackjack.
FBG is also proud of its “instant” withdrawals for more than 90% of gamblers, “quick deposit” capabilities that allow gamblers to remain in their games, personalized home pages that include “recently played” game carousels, and real-time reporting and updates in search results.
In case players doubt how often the app will be upgraded, an update happened while McClintic was demonstrating the product to Catena Media journalists on Dec. 13.
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