A new online casino will be coming to Michigan.
Fanatics purchased the US assets of PointsBet last week, which means PointsBet Casino will eventually be replaced here in the state.
While Fanatics doesn’t yet have a Michigan online casino license, the sports memorabilia company is set on making a big splash in the online gambling industry.
Already working toward expanding its sports betting impact, Fanatics Betting & Gaming has stated its intention to be an online casino player in 2023.
Fanatics committed to online casino launch in 2023
Already with access to four sports betting states, Fanatics purchase of PointsBet’s US assets opens them up to an additional dozen states, including four that have legalized online casinos.
With online casino revenue in Michigan producing far greater results than online sports betting revenue, Fanatics has to be keying on making a splash in iGaming.
Their official website includes an intro with their aspirations to enter into the online casino industry by the end of the year.
“Fanatics Betting & Gaming is building an online and retail (physical location) sports betting (“Sportsbook”) and online casino (“iGaming”) real-money wagering platform. Fanatics Betting & Gaming launched its first retail Sportsbook in Maryland in January 2023, and in May 2023 launched the beta version of its mobile Sportsbook in both Tennessee and Ohio. Fanatics intends to launch and operate its Sportsbook and iGaming platform in additional states in 2023.”
What could Fanatics Casino MI look like?
Fanatics will have the benefit of being an established name in the state when it eventually launches its online casino.
Fanatics is one of the top sports memorabilia and merchandising companies in the country. Valued at over $27 billion, the company can put a lot of promotional steam into its new online gambling platforms.
It won’t take much for Fanatics to outperform PointsBet. The online operator for Northern Waters Casino Resort is dead-last in all-time online casino revenue ($22.9 million) and 14th of 15 operators in terms of games offered (199).
PointsBet also has offered the fewest promotions for its players at just $1.9 million over its lifetime in Michigan.
If Fanatics comes to the table with a healthy mix of games, including jackpot slots and live dealer options, while also spending early on promotions to attract new customers, it could see itself get off to a great start in Michigan.
What can Fanatics Casino learn from SI Casino?
Fanatics Casino may be able to pick up a few tips from SI Casino MI.
The newest online casino in the state took over for TwinSpires and officially launched in February of this year.
Also using a big name in the sports world, Sports Illustrated was able to market itself to different avenues of sports media to attempt to bring in customers.
SI Casino has done a nice job of offering a wide variety of games, approaching 600. That includes jackpot games, exclusive games and live dealer options.
Where SI could likely improve is doing a better job at cross promotion with the sportsbook. The SI name is certainly attached to sports, similar to Fanatics. Drawing customers to the online casino could be more challenging than drawing them to the sportsbook.
SI has been able to land itself in the 12th position for online sports betting handle compared to the other operators here in the state over recent months. The SI Casino is sitting steadily in 14th.
PointsBet is in a similar position, as it has put a lot into the sportsbook, ranking in the top half of Michigan’s online operators for handle. However, its online casino has failed to crawl out of the last position for revenue.
Fanatics can’t focus too much on trying to compete with the big names in Michigan (BetMGM Casino, FanDuel MI, DraftKings Michigan). If it has a well-put together launch and established a foundation of customers to rank near the top 10, that would be a good start. From there it can build and make itself a player.
