Fanatics Betting & Gaming will be coming to Michigan sometime in the near future.
But, does that mean it will be in 2023?
The sports memorabilia franchise purchased PointsBet’s US assets with the intention of launching an online sportsbook and online casino in newly acquired states sometime this year.
However, new advertising from PointsBet continues to show growth in its Michigan online casino product.
PointsBet offering 150-day promotion
Customers of PointsBet Sportsbook MI may have received an email on Thursday with a pretty intriguing promotion.
The online operator of Northern Waters Casino Resort sent customers a promotion for “150 Days of SGP Bonus Bets.”
The offer, which says PointsBet is providing a bonus bet every day for the next 150 days to apply on a same game parlay, began on Aug. 24.
What Fanatics has said about coming to Michigan
Fanatics has long expressed a desire to be a major player in the US online sportsbook scene by the start of football season.
Well, football season is nearly upon us.
Fanatics is already live in Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee. It will expand to 12 other states where PointsBet is currently operating.
Fanatics doesn’t have an online casino operation as of now, but made clear in a statement on its official website that they intended to change that this 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.”
Fanatics has yet to receive any public acknowledgement of licensing in Michigan from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
PointsBet Casino MI seeing revenue growth in 2023
PointsBet has always been more of an online sportsbook player than an online casino player here in Michigan.
The sportsbook sits sixth all-time in online handle at $336.3 million while generating $29.5 million in revenue over its lifetime.
It’s the only online operator that has generated more revenue with its sportsbook than its online casino.
PointsBet Casino MI is dead last in all-time online casino revenue at just $25.7 million.
It was clear from launch that PointsBet was focused on pushing its sportsbook product behind innovative wagering like “Points Betting”, along with high-profile sponsors like Drew Brees, Allen Iverson and Rip Hamilton.
However, in 2023, PointsBet has put more of a focus into its online casino. As the sportsbook has dipped down to seventh in handle behind BetRivers for 2023, its online casino is seeing growth.
A more noticeable TV ad campaign for PointsBet Casino MI has seen it amass $9.8 million in revenue through seven months of 2023.
While not a big number in the grand scheme of the state, it’s still 101.6% greater than the $4.8 million it had at this time last year.
Since it launched in May of 2021, PointsBet Casino MI had just one month with over $1 million in revenue over its first 17 months of operation. Now, it has went over $1 million in 10 consecutive months. Of the 10 months, eight have been over $1.3 million in revenue.
June and July saw PointsBet actually surpass Sports Illustrated in online casino revenue, helping it try to push to get out of the cellar of the 15 online markets.
Again, these numbers are small peanuts in the overall market spectrum, but Fanatics has to be encouraged to see PointsBet building an online casino audience. No matter how strong a sports brand Fanatics is, the real money in online gambling in Michigan comes from online casino revenue.
