Sports apparel giant Fanatics will use Amelco’s source code to power its sports betting product, the business announced in a Massachusetts licensing meeting.
Fanatics had long made its intentions to enter the world of sports betting known. The business was part of an application for a license in New York back in 2021, while last year it created a betting and gaming arm and made a number of major hires within this division.
The business has also applied for a number of licences. Besides Massachusetts, it also received a retail betting licence in Maryland and is approved in Ohio.
Amelco source code
However, the technology it intended to use had remained unknown. Reports claimed that Fanatics would use Amelco’s source code as far back as April 2022, but at the time the operator said that there was no deal in place with the supplier.
Later reports alleged that Fanatics would acquire German sportsbook operator Tipico and use its platform, but Fanatics opted not to comment on those claims.
During a presentation to state gaming commissioners over its application for a sports betting license in Massachusetts, Fanatics chief product officer Scot McClintic revealed that Fanatics would be using a platform developed by Amelco.
“Our core platform is powered by Amelco, particularly the player account management system and sports wagering system,” he said.
Fanatics has purchased Amelco’s source code, allowing it to then modify the platform for its own needs.
“In the purchase of Amelco source code, we are ‘fanatacizing’ it, we are making it work with some specific use-cases that we have and we are bringing that version forward for GLI certification in the next few weeks,” McClintic added.
“We are creating a lot of custom middleware applications to make the Amelco system work with the user experience we want to bring to our customers.”
Kambi share price plummets
The announcement had a major impact on the share price of Kambi, which had also been named as a possible technology partner of Fanatics. Kambi had led the bid for a New York sports betting license that included Fanatics.
At the time of writing, the sportsbook supplier’s share price has dropped 10.6% since trading closed yesterday (4 January), with one share currently trading at SEK174 (£13.69/€15.47/$16.31).
Fanatics CEO confident of success
At the presentation, Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King also discussed why he was confident in the success of the business.
“I believe that Fanatics Betting and Gaming will play the role of innovator in the sports betting market,” he said. “We believe that we will be successful in the sports betting category for five reasons. One is that this team has experience in sports betting… Fanatics itself is also a proven innovator and that has led to a better fan experience and a much larger marketplace.
“We have a very experienced leadership team with a combined hundreds of years of experience.
“The fourth reason why we believe we’ll be successful is that we have a very strong commitment to diversity. We believe we’ll be able to create the most diverse team in the industry.
“And then lastly, we have put responsible gaming at our core.”
Barstool Massachusetts licence
Further discussion of Fanatics’ application was moved to a private session, as Fanatics argued that certain aspects of its product to be discussed were confidential trade secrets, as it has not launched yet.
At the same meeting, the state regulator agreed to approve Penn Entertainment and its Barstool brand, but only after attaching certain conditions. These conditions include agreeing to cooperate with an investigation into Barstool and its marketing activities.