Fanatics entering the gaming industry has been one of the most anticipated launches of all time. The company finally released a sportsbook and its first branded online casino in West Virginia last November. It’s going to take some time before the new operator finds its footing in the market.
The West Virginia Lottery reported revenue for WV online casinos for the entire month of December, except for the final day. Despite that, we can still get a good idea of the impact Fanatics has had so far.
Fanatics WV online casino debut starts slow
Fanatics Sportsbook had launched in other states before West Virginia. However, the new operator used the Mountain State to debut its own branded online casino in November, taking the place of PointsBet.
Since Fanatics has been operational for more than a month, it’s time to dissect what kind of impact the new platform is having. The West Virginia Lottery breaks down revenue by licensee and not by operator. While it’s tough to decipher exact figures, Fanatics Casino has not made a huge impact as of yet.
Fanatics is partnered with Hollywood Casino Charles Town, along with DraftKings WV Casino and Hollywood WV Casino. Over the last several months, the licensee generated the following revenue:
- September: $4.8 million
- October: $6.6 million
- November: $5.3 million
- December: $5.5 million (missing one day)
The Hollywood licensee underwent a ton of change in November. Remember, November is the same month when Barstool exited the market and Hollywood WV Casino, merged with ESPN Bet, launched.
October was the final month of DraftKings, PointsBet and Barstool as Hollywood Casino Charles Town’s previous roster of partners.
Now that DraftKings, Fanatics and Hollywood are entrenched as the newest entrants, it’ll be interesting to see how the licensee performs moving forward.
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What does Fanatics Casino WV look like?
Fanatics online casino is only available through the sportsbook as of now. Fanatics Chief Product Officer, Scot McClintic, told PlayWV last month during a demo that the operator is targeting a casino-only app at some point in the distant future. He said:
“We just know that if we were to drop a casino-only app into the app store, customers are going to have a certain level of expectation that we want to be able to satisfy. As we deliver more and more on the casino roadmap, that would mean more in-house games, more redemption options, better bonusing, then we’ll be in a position to launch Fanatics Casino separately.”
According to a press release, Fanatics debuted with roulette, slots and blackjack, along with the new Fanatics Blackjack game.
Fanatics officials have hinted at more games to come soon, when partnerships will be finalized with some of the most notable game manufacturers. Fanatics partnered with Boom Entertainment to provide a state-of-the-art blackjack experience. McClintic said:
“We really focused on making the blackjack experience have that premium feel. All of the details from how the cards flip over, the speed, the animation were painstakingly thought through.”
While more games are coming soon, players can convert FanCash to either bonus bets or team merchandise from Fanatics’ website. Customers can accumulate FanCash through the following ways:
- Slots: 0.5% of wager
- Table games: 0.13% of wager
Once Fanatics gets its feet wet, it may not be long before the new operator on the block starts making noise in the revenue department.
