Fanatics has taken the prediction market plunge.
The sports merchandise giant and online sportsbook operator revealed on Wednesday that it has launched prediction markets in several states.
"Fanatics Markets" is now live via a partnership with Crypto.com, a federally regulated exchange operator. The new prediction market platform is currently available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
In other words: states that lack legalized sports betting or online sports betting offered by Fanatics.
While actual trading is only available so far in some of those states, Fanatics says it is "coming soon" to the others.
The move by Fanatics is not a surprise, as CEO Michael Rubin told CNBC last month that they would begin offering event contracts “within the next couple weeks.”
However, Wednesday's news means that de facto sports betting via Fanatics is now officially live, and will be available in a number of state markets that currently lack legalized wagering. Prediction markets, because they are federally regulated, are able to operate in all 50 states.
Fanatics is also getting into the prediction market game ahead of major rivals like DraftKings and FanDuel, which are also planning to launch exchanges in the near future.
This is a breaking news story. More to come.
