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Fanatics in talks to acquire BetParx sportsbook
New York, NY. – December 7th. Portrait for a profile on Fanatics founder & CEO Michael Rubin at his office in downtown NYC.
The Washington Post | Getty Images
Fanatics is in discussions to acquire the BetParx sportsbook, as the sports merchandising company looks to take a bigger position in sports betting, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal hasn’t been reached, although Fanatics signed a letter of intent to buy the sportsbook, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. A deal price couldn’t yet be learned, and the discussions may not result in an agreement, the people added.
Representatives for Fanatics and BetParx declined to comment.
The BetParx app was launched last year by Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, the parent company of Parx Casino in Pennsylvania, and Playtech, an online gambling software supplier. BetParx is also available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan and Ohio.
Fanatics has considered an initial public offering, but has been looking to complete an acquisition in the gambling space, among other possible deals, ahead of going public, the people said.
The company would be entering a crowded marketplace. Dozens of sports-betting operators have emerged in recent years, including Flutter-owned FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars and BetMGM, which is co-owned by MGM Resorts and Entain. As the space has grown more competitive, smaller players have struggled, with some, like MaximBet, ceasing operations recently.
Fanatics has been seeking a deal in the sports betting space for some time. Last year, it had been in discussions with small gambling operator Tipico, CNBC previously reported.
The company is opening Fanatics Sportsbook at FedExField, the stadium of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Fanatics also said it received a temporary license to operate in Massachusetts, and plans to partner with Plainridge Park Casino, which is owned by Penn National.
In October, Fanatics said it hired Andrea Ellis as chief financial officer of its betting and gaming division.
Last year, Fanatics’ billionaire executive chairman Michael Rubin sold his 10% stake in Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, allowing Fanatics to enter the gambling space. NBA rules prohibit team owners from operating a gambling platform.
Fanatics raised $700 million in capital late last year, which the company planned to use toward potential mergers and acquisitions across the collectibles, betting and gaming businesses, CNBC previously reported.
The fresh round of capital brought Fanatics’ valuation to $31 billion.
Rubin’s company has been rapidly growing recently, pushing past solely being an online sports merchandise business. The company estimates its revenue for Fanatics, including its Lids segment, will be approximately $8 billion in 2023.
The company has been growing through acquisitions. Last year, it expanded its footprint in the collectibles business with a $500 million acquisition of Topps. It also bought clothing brand Mitchell & Ness in partnership with LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
–CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this article.
Report: Caesars Sportsbook is “preparing to go after” Adam Schefter
The rumors have percolated in industry circles for weeks. Wednesday’s developments may have caused the rumors to transmogrify into an official report.
Via Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com, Caesaers Sportsbook “is preparing go after” ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter’s contract expires in the summer of 2022. A buzz has been building among those in the NFL media business that Schefter plans to leave ESPN for one of the gambling companies. Surely, Caesers isn’t the only one thinking about trying to hire him.
None of that should be a surprise. The sports books are VERY aggressive about exploring opportunities to add individual reporters/analysts and/or entire media companies. A massive audience for sports content instantly becomes a captive audience for the purposes of converting members of that audience into gambling customers.
As more and more states legalize gambling, the competition for media personalities and/or media outlets will intensify.
What’s compelling about the Schefter/Caesars report is that, while it had been an open secret for many in the media, it finally became reduced to print last night, after Schefter found himself heavily criticized for sending an unpublished article to Washington executive Bruce Allen in 2011, referring to Allen as “Mr. Editor,” and asking Allen if there is anything that should be “added, changed, tweaked” before the story goes live.
Well after defending himself in a Wednesday morning radio appearance, Schefter issued a statement acknowledging that he shouldn’t have done what he did. The statement was not posted or amplified by Schefter’s Twitter account, but by the much smaller ESPN P.R. Twitter page.
Throw in the publication of a report that took the backroom chatter public in the hours after Schefter issued a statement that he quite possibly didn’t want to issue, and it’s fair to wonder whether Schefter or his agent leaked his potential departure as a message to ESPN. Indeed, the die may have been cast the moment Schefter concluded (if he did) that ESPN didn’t support him on the Allen situation the way that Schefter believed it should.
Meanwhile, the article about Schefter also mentions that “cash-rich gambling companies could eventually try to pick off ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.” That’s not an accident. The chatter has been that Schefter and Wojnarowski are considering joining a gambling company as part of a package deal.
The question of reporters whose value comes from having inside information (even if, as to Schefter, it’s obtained and published literally five minutes before it’s otherwise announced) working for gambling operations who thrive on having inside information raises plenty of questions that may or may not ever be fully explored and resolved.
While some will suggest that the NFL will be faced with telling its teams to cut Schefter off if he works for a sports book, someone will need to remind the NFL of the ever-growing collection of gambling commercials that end with a reference to the fact that the company in question is an “official sports betting partner of the NFL.”