Fanatics Inc. will buy the U.S. operations of Australia’s PointsBet, CNBC reported late Sunday, in the company’s largest foray yet into sports betting.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNBC reported the deal, worth about $150 million, could be announced as soon as later Sunday night. CNBC said the acquisition only applies to PointsBet’s
PBH,
U.S. assets. Fanatics did not immediately reply to MarketWatch’s request for confirmation of the report Sunday night.
PointsBet is an online sportsbook that launched in the U.S. in 2019, and operates in 15 states, including New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois and Colorado.
If confirmed, the deal should increase pressure on U.S. sports-gambling companies such as DraftKings Inc.
DKNG,
and FanDuel. In late April, Fanatics launched sportsbook wagering for its customers in Ohio and Tennessee, and the Wall Street Journal reported at the time that the company pans to invest about $1 billion in its new sports-betting division.
In an interview, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin told the Journal he wants Fanatics to be the world’s top sports-betting company within the next 10 years, and expects its betting operations to be profitable by 2025 or 2026.
In December, Florida-based Fanatics — which got its start in sports apparel and collectibles — closed a $700 million funding round, valuing it at about $31 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The privately held company is expected to eventually launch an IPO.
Last year, Fanatics acquired trading-card company Topps.
