It’s a fairytale of New York come true for Fanatics, with Fanatics Sportsbook making its debut in the Big Apple. New Yorkers will be able to download the smartphone app from today (February 29) and is the 15th US state in which the sportsbook is now live.
The launch follows Fanatics Betting and Gaming’s acquisition of PointsBet, with the company selling its US business to Fanatics on 30 June 2023 for $225m. It was then announced in August that the deal was set to be completed in March 2024.
As has been the case in other states to recently launch the Fanatics Sportsbook, including Iowa, Michigan and Indiana, the usernames, passwords, account balances and reward points of PointsBet customers in the state will be automatically migrated to the Fanatics Sportsbook platform. This is expected to help streamline the sign-up process, where players will be able to experience the Fanatics Sportsbook for themselves.
Features of the sportsbook include its optimizations to smartphones due to being designed directly on Andriod and iOS devices, its search and discovery features to allow players to find the best best suited to their needs and preferences, and FanCash a 5% betting cashback system which can be spent on free bets on the Fanatics website.
The news follows Penn Entertainment’s acquisition of a New York sports wagering license from Wynn Interactive earlier this month. New York has routinely shown itself to be a state with high volumes of sports betting engagement, being the first state to reach a $2bn monthly handle in October 2023. However, it also poses a 51% taxation rate on sports betting, making it a challenging state for operators to thrive in despite market interest.
