DraftKings vs Fanatics: 27 States vs a PointsBet Rebuild

DraftKings vs Fanatics: Checking the Assumptions

DraftKings vs Fanatics gets asked with an assumption baked in: that DraftKings is the "real" sportsbook and Fanatics is the merchandise company playing catch-up. Some of that holds up — DraftKings does clear more states and does trade on Nasdaq — but the part where Fanatics is somehow less licensed or less legitimate does not survive a look at where its book actually came from.

Type “DraftKings vs Fanatics” into a search bar and the implied question is usually “is the merchandise company’s sportsbook actually as real as the sportsbook one?” It’s a fair thing to wonder about a book that only started as an app in October 2023. It’s also a question with a cleaner answer than most people expect once you trace where Fanatics’ licenses actually came from.

Myth: Fanatics Is a Merch Company Playing Sportsbook

Reality is more specific. Fanatics Betting and Gaming didn’t apply for state licenses from a standing start — it closed a $225 million acquisition of PointsBet’s US sportsbook, iGaming, and advance-deposit wagering business in April 2024, and inherited PointsBet’s existing state approvals along with it. PointsBet had been operating as a licensed sportsbook since 2019. So the Fanatics app is young; the regulatory infrastructure underneath it is not. That’s a genuinely different thing than an offshore brand adding a US-sounding name.

DraftKings vs Fanatics, side by side

	DraftKings	Fanatics
License origin	Built organically since 2012 DFS launch	Acquired via 2024 PointsBet purchase
Ownership	Independent, Nasdaq: DKNG (public since 2020)	Privately held, division of Fanatics Inc.
Sportsbook footprint	27 states + D.C. (Aug 2026)	23 states + D.C. (Aug 2026)
Casino states	CT, MI, NJ, PA, WV	MI, NJ, PA, WV
Rewards tie-in	Standard bonus-bet structure, state-specific	FanCash, redeemable for bonus bets or Fanatics merch
Not live (sportsbook)	California, Texas, Florida, and the rest of the dark list	Same dark states as DraftKings

Myth: Public Company Automatically Means More Trustworthy

DraftKings does have a real transparency edge here — as a Nasdaq-listed company it files public financials, and anyone can look up its balance sheet before depositing a dollar. Fanatics Betting and Gaming, as a division of the privately held Fanatics empire built around Michael Rubin, doesn’t publish anything comparable. That gap is worth naming plainly. But it’s a difference in corporate disclosure, not in whether either sportsbook is licensed to operate where it says it does — both answer to the same state gaming regulators in every market where they overlap.

The four-state gap is the honest headline. DraftKings clears 27 states plus D.C. to Fanatics’ 23 plus D.C. as of August 2026. That gap moves with every legislative session — Fanatics’ most recent addition was a December 2025 Missouri launch — so check the current state page for each brand rather than trust a number that will be stale by next year.

Where the Casino Comparison Actually Splits

DraftKings Casino covers one more state than Fanatics Casino — Connecticut — on top of the shared Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia markets. It’s a small gap in absolute terms, but if online casino is the actual product you want rather than sportsbook, it’s the more relevant number than the sportsbook state count.

Which One for Who

Live somewhere only one of the two has a sportsbook license? That settles it before ownership structure even matters — check the state page first. Live where both are licensed? Pick DraftKings if a public company’s disclosure and the wider state map matter to you; pick Fanatics if the FanCash-to-merchandise crossover fits how you already shop, and you’re comfortable with an acquired license behind a newer app. Live in California, Texas, or Florida? Neither has a sportsbook for you, and no amount of license history changes that. Betting is entertainment, not income, on either app. If it stops feeling that way, 1-800-GAMBLER.

DraftKings vs Fanatics — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fanatics Sportsbook as legit as DraftKings?

On licensing, yes — both operate under real state gaming licenses and answer to the same regulators in overlapping states. Fanatics’ licenses trace back to a $225 million acquisition of PointsBet’s US sportsbook business that closed in April 2024, rather than years of DraftKings-style organic buildout, but an acquired license is not a lesser license. The real difference is scale and public accountability, not legitimacy.

Is DraftKings or Fanatics legal in more states?

DraftKings, by four states. As of August 2026, DraftKings Sportsbook is live in 27 states plus D.C.; Fanatics Sportsbook is live in 23 states plus D.C. Both lists overlap heavily in the Midwest and Northeast — check your own state page for each brand rather than assuming the four-state gap matters where you live.

Is DraftKings publicly traded, and is Fanatics?

DraftKings is: it has traded on Nasdaq as DKNG since April 2020, with public financials any bettor can check. Fanatics Sportsbook is not — Fanatics Betting and Gaming is a division of Fanatics, the privately held sports-merchandise company built around Michael Rubin, with no equivalent public filings. That’s a real transparency gap, though it doesn’t change either brand’s state-license status.

Which one has a bigger online casino?

DraftKings, by one state. DraftKings Casino runs in five markets — Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia. Fanatics Casino runs in four — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia — with no Connecticut product at all.

Can I use DraftKings or Fanatics in Texas, California, or Florida?

Not the sportsbook, from either brand. Neither DraftKings nor Fanatics is licensed to take sports bets in California, Texas, or Florida, and neither is close as of 2026. DraftKings’ separate DFS product covers a wider map than its sportsbook, but that’s a different product with a different legal basis — it’s not a workaround for the missing sportsbook.