Fanatics Uses Merch To Acquire Bettors

The key advantage is not that merchandise directly makes a bettor trust a sportsbook, it is that merchandise gives Fanatics a cheaper and broader way to acquire sports fans than FanDuel has. Fanatics already sells jerseys, hats, and memorabilia to a massive customer base, so if it adds fantasy and betting into the same account and rewards system, it can turn retail traffic into gaming users without paying pure gambling marketing costs.

• Fanatics is built on commerce first. In 2024, about 77% of revenue came from apparel and merchandise, while betting was only about 3%. That means the core retail business can fund sportsbook expansion and let Fanatics stay patient while it improves product and retention.
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• FanDuel and DraftKings scaled in the opposite direction. They started with daily fantasy, then converted that user base into sportsbooks after legalization. Their fantasy products became a funnel into betting. Fanatics is trying to build a different funnel, from commerce and loyalty into betting, and potentially into fantasy later.
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• What merchandise adds in practice is more customer touchpoints. A fan might buy a jersey, earn FanCash, browse collectibles, and later place a bet in the same ecosystem. FanDuel can offer odds and content, but it does not own that retail relationship or the licensed merchandise shelf that Fanatics controls.
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The next phase is a full sports fan wallet, where commerce, collectibles, fantasy, and betting all sit in one loop. If Fanatics executes that bundle, it will look less like another sportsbook chasing FanDuel and more like a sports commerce company using gambling as one more monetization layer on top of an existing fan relationship.