Fanatics Sportsbook has signed a deal to become the first officially licensed sportsbook of MLB Players, Inc., the business arm of the MLBPA, according to a report from Sports Business Journal.
Fanatics now has the right to use licensed players rights on its website, app or other platforms in sports betting products and for promotional use.
The partnership is a non-exclusive licensing agreement, meaning that the MLBPA could elect to team up with other operators in the future. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the report.
Neither Fanatics nor the players’ union has officially commented on the report but Fanatics confirmed the Sports Business Journal report when asked by SBC Americas.
Fanatics has deep roots with MLB, having held merchandising rights for multiple major sports leagues for years.
Last month, Fanatics announced that it had secured access to D.C. to make the capital its 23rd U.S. jurisdiction, via a partnership with the Washington Spirit of the NWSL pro women’s soccer league.
MLBPA sues multiple sportsbooks
The new deal comes weeks after it came to light that the MLBPA has filed two separate lawsuits against a total of four sports betting operators over the alleged misuse of player likenesses.
In a filing in the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court, MLB Players Inc. named DraftKings and bet365 as plaintiffs. In the other lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, the accused are FanDuel and Underdog.
Both suits essentially make the same allegations: that the operators have been using individual player images within their apps, external marketing and social media posts to accompany individual player prop bets.
Fanatics also utilizes player images in-app but was not named in any lawsuit.
