Sports merchandising group Fanatics is currently engaged in discussions with Crypto.com to explore a partnership aimed at entering the burgeoning prediction markets sector. This sector allows users to place bets on a variety of topics, including sports results, political outcomes, and pop culture events. The interest in prediction markets has surged over the past year, with companies like Polymarket and Kalshi rapidly gaining traction and achieving significant valuations.
Sources knowledgeable about the talks indicate that the plans between Fanatics, based in the United States, and Singapore-based Crypto.com are still in their nascent stages and may evolve further. Both companies have opted not to provide comments at this time.
Fanatics, which recently launched its flagship London store along Regent Street, is actively pursuing global expansion efforts. In addition to venturing into sports betting, the company is also looking to grow its collectibles business, which includes trading cards. These strategic moves come amid the rising prominence of prediction markets, pushing existing gambling operators to reevaluate their strategies within the regulated U.S. market. For instance, Flutter, the parent company of the sports betting platform FanDuel, recently announced a partnership with derivatives exchange CME Group to establish a prediction markets platform.
Crypto.com has established collaborations with various online companies to offer event contracts—financial instruments utilized in prediction markets that yield payouts when specific events occur. Recent partnerships with entities like Hollywood.com, an entertainment website, and MyPrize, a social gaming platform, highlight the company’s efforts to solidify its presence in this space.
Michael Rubin leads Fanatics, which has attracted investment from notable backers such as Clearlake Capital, Silver Lake, Fidelity, and SoftBank. The company raised around $700 million in December 2022, achieving a valuation of $31 billion. Fanatics has also been on an acquisition spree, including deals for the Topps trading cards business and the premium and vintage sports apparel company Mitchell & Ness.
The company has formed partnerships with major sports leagues, including the U.S. National Football League, National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball, all of which are shareholders in Fanatics. Betting and gaming are significant areas of focus for Rubin, who has made his fortune by building a diverse sports enterprise encompassing online retail for trading cards and sports merchandise, event management, and gambling services.
Fanatics has experienced substantial growth since the 2011 acquisition of its sports retail business through GSI Commerce, which was later sold to eBay for $2.4 billion. However, Rubin retained control over the sports business and its branding rights, setting the stage for the massive expansion that has followed.
