Fanatics Betting and Gaming (Fanatics) will open a retail sportsbook location in Columbus’ Arena District in partnership with local ice hockey team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Fanatics Sportsbook Columbus will open at the end of August, next to Nationwide Arena.
The 5,000 square-foot sportsbook will include four betting windows, 14 self-service kiosks, an LED video wall, 20 TV monitors and a full-service restaurant.
In late June, Fanatics also purchased Australian sportsbook Pointsbet’s US operations after outbidding DraftKings’ attempt to submit a “superior proposal” to its original proposed price. The final acquisition price was $225m.
Fanatics began beta testing in Maryland in June as well, and continues its online app testing in both Tennessee and Ohio, its first states to launch. The Fanatics Sportsbook app may be downloaded on either Android or iOS, but players need an access code that is currently only available to Fanatics customers until this testing is completed.
Ari Borod, CBO of Fanatics, said, "We're thrilled to be partnering with the Blue Jackets to bring a retail experience to the arena district. The Jackets are one of the youngest teams in the league, and we are excited to leverage our partnership to grow with them and complement our online sports betting experience that is currently being beta-tested in Ohio."
The sportsbook will feature legal betting markets for sports including hockey, football, basketball, soccer, golf, tennis, MMA and boxing. Trading of markets will be done in-house.
Blue Jackets SVP and COO Cameron Scholvin added, “The Columbus Blue Jackets are constantly seeking new and exciting ways to engage with our fans. We believe this collaboration with Fanatics on a sportsbook location just outside the doors of Nationwide Arena does just that."
