Fanatics Vermont: Legit — Scored Last of 3 Winners

Fanatics Vermont: Legit, and the Lowest Scorer of Three Winners

Fanatics Vermont is a legal, licensed sportsbook, and it is one of the few Fanatics markets nationwide that did not come from the PointsBet acquisition — Vermont did not even have a legal sports betting market yet when that deal closed in stages. It is also the lowest-scoring of the three operators the state licensed, a detail its own bid file makes plain.

Legal status in Vermont

Vermont legalized online sports betting under H.127, signed by Governor Phil Scott on June 14, 2023 (codified as Act 103), and had the Department of Liquor and Lottery run a competitive bid rather than an open license process. Five companies applied by the September 2023 deadline — DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM, and Penn Interactive's ESPN Bet — and the department scored each on a rubric covering nine areas, including company experience, integrity, and responsible gaming, with four department scorers per category. Records released under a public-records request and reported by Legal Sports Report show FanDuel scored highest at 3,703 of 4,000 points, DraftKings followed at 3,638, and Fanatics was third among the winners at 3,418 — still comfortably ahead of BetMGM's 3,033, which did not win a license. Fanatics led all five bidders on the integrity sub-score alone. The department named its three winners on December 12, 2023: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics, with DraftKings and Fanatics each committing to a 31% revenue share and FanDuel bidding 33%. Mobile wagering launched for all three on January 11, 2024. Vermont authorizes only sports betting, not online casino play, for any operator, and the market is mobile-only with no retail sportsbook anywhere in the state.

State gambling authority: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL), which ran the 2023 bid and scored all five applicants.

Fanatics Vermont is legal, licensed, and live — and it is also the one state where Fanatics’ usual origin story doesn’t apply. Most of the brand’s national footprint traces back to the $225 million PointsBet acquisition. Vermont doesn’t, because Vermont didn’t have a legal sports betting market for PointsBet to have held a license in. This one, Fanatics won on its own, in a competitive bid where it finished third out of three winners.

Is Fanatics Legal in Vermont? Yes, Since January 2024

Governor Phil Scott signed H.127 on June 14, 2023, codified as Act 103, authorizing the Department of Liquor and Lottery to run a competitive bid instead of licensing every operator that applied. Five companies answered the September 2023 deadline — DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM, and Penn Interactive’s ESPN Bet — and the department named three winners on December 12, 2023: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics. All three launched together on January 11, 2024.

The actual scoresheet: Records released under a public-records request and reported by Legal Sports Report put FanDuel first at 3,703 of 4,000 points, DraftKings second at 3,638, and Fanatics third at 3,418 — still well clear of BetMGM’s 3,033, which lost. Of nine scored categories, Fanatics came out ahead of both other winners on one: integrity.

This License Didn’t Come From PointsBet

Fanatics Betting and Gaming built most of its sportsbook map by acquiring PointsBet’s US business for $225 million, a deal that closed state by state starting in August 2023 and wrapped in April 2024. Vermont was never part of that transfer. PointsBet never operated here, because Vermont’s market itself didn’t exist until the state’s own 2023 bid process created it. Fanatics applied for this one under its own name and won it on the strength of its own proposal — a different path than the inherited licenses that make up most of its other 22 states.

Is Fanatics Legit and Safe in Vermont?

Yes to both. “Scored lowest of three” sounds worse than it is — Fanatics still beat a Nasdaq-listed competitor, BetMGM, by nearly 400 points on the state’s own rubric, and it operates under the same Department of Liquor and Lottery license, geolocation requirement, and 21-plus age floor as DraftKings and FanDuel. Vermont also specifically bars wagers on its own high school sports, a rule that applies to all three apps equally.

No Casino, No Retail Counter

Vermont’s law only ever covered sports betting. Fanatics Casino is a four-state product nationally — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — and Vermont isn’t one of them, so there’s no slots or table-games app to open here regardless. The market is mobile-only too: no Fanatics counter, kiosk, or retail sportsbook exists anywhere in the state.

Who This Fits

Vermont bettors 21 and older who want a third option alongside DraftKings and FanDuel, and who don’t need the FanCash welcome offer to be identical to what a bigger Fanatics state gets. Treat any deposit as entertainment spending, not income. If it stops feeling that way, 1-800-GAMBLER is free and confidential.

Fanatics Sportsbook Vermont — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fanatics legal in Vermont?

Yes. Fanatics is one of exactly three licensed sportsbooks in Vermont, operating since the market launched January 11, 2024 under a license the Department of Liquor and Lottery awarded through a competitive bid, not an open application process.

Is Fanatics legit in Vermont if it scored lowest of the three winners?

Yes. Scoring third among three winners is not the same as nearly losing — Fanatics' 3,418 points cleared BetMGM's 3,033 by a wide margin, and Fanatics actually led every bidder, including FanDuel and DraftKings, on the integrity portion of the state's nine-category rubric. The department's own scoresheets, released under a public-records request, back that up.

Did Fanatics get its Vermont license through the PointsBet deal?

No. Most of Fanatics' 23-state sportsbook footprint traces back to the $225 million PointsBet US acquisition, which closed state-by-state between August 2023 and April 2024. Vermont was never one of those states — the state's sports betting market did not exist until the Department of Liquor and Lottery's own 2023 bid created it, and Fanatics applied and won that license directly, under its own name.

Is Fanatics safe to use in Vermont?

Yes, in the standard regulated sense: a Department of Liquor and Lottery license, mandatory geolocation confirming the bettor is physically in Vermont, and a 21-plus age floor for sports wagering specifically, a point above the state's general 18-and-up gambling age. Vermont also bars betting on its own high school sports.

Does Fanatics have a casino app in Vermont?

No. Vermont has not legalized online casino play for any operator, and Fanatics Casino is a separate, much narrower product nationally — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia only. There is no Fanatics slots or table-games app to find in Vermont regardless of the sportsbook situation.

Is there a retail Fanatics sportsbook in Vermont?

No. Vermont's law authorized mobile wagering only, so there is no Fanatics counter or kiosk anywhere in the state. The app is the entire legal product, the same structure DraftKings and FanDuel operate under here.