Rubin told Bloomberg that Fanatics currently holds around 10% of the US sports betting market, putting it third behind the two leaders, and said closing that gap now means spending well beyond what the company originally planned for next year.
Rubin explained:
“We’re very focused on being number one in everything that we do. We’re going to spend a lot more money in marketing next year than we had thought we were going to spend because we’re saying, how do we close the gap, and how do we really grow our market share?”
Fanatics entered sports betting in 2023 and now expects total company revenue of around $14 billion in 2026, up 40% from last year, with its gambling division making up around $2 billion of that. From all its businesses, including merchandise and trading cards, Fanatics expects to generate $2 billion in free cash flow and holds about $1 billion in net cash with no debt. Rubin said staying private lets Fanatics direct profits from its other units into gambling without the pressure public companies face, and that he isn’t planning to take the company public anytime soon.
