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Fanatics plans up to $1 billion in betting ads for 2027
Fanatics plans to lift its own US betting and gaming advertising from about $350 million this year to as much as $1 billion in 2027. Founder and chief executive Michael Rubin said so on CNBC's Squawk Box on October 14, 2026. He put wider US betting and gaming marketing at about $3 billion in 2025 and said it could reach $7 billion in 2027. That $7 billion is the industry total, not the Fanatics budget.
What the October 14 interview actually separated
"There were probably $3 billion spent in U.S. betting and gaming last year. I bet you there'll be $7 billion spent in marketing next year," said Michael Rubin, founder and chief executive at Fanatics. (Benzinga)
His own spend, on the same broadcast, was the smaller number. Benzinga and Covers both reported about $350 million this year and as much as $1 billion in 2027. Covers said the sportsbook had approached 10% of US share a little over three years after the online book launched. Benzinga put his share estimate at nearly 10%.
"For Fanatics, we believe we need to be No. 1 in whatever we do. … We're a distant No. 3 in the betting and gaming business. We don't like that," said Michael Rubin, founder and chief executive at Fanatics. (Covers)
Bloomberg's October 2 range is not that ceiling
On October 2, 2026, Rubin gave Bloomberg a range.
Sports Business Journal, citing that interview, said Fanatics plans to more than double gambling-unit advertising, from $350 million this year to as much as $1 billion in 2027.
Legal Sports Report, writing the same day from the Bloomberg interview, put the 2027 company plan at $800 million or even $1 billion. The October 14 line kept the $1 billion top and did not repeat the $800 million floor.
Those are two interviews, 12 days apart, not one budget.
| Figure | What it counts | Where it was said | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry marketing | About $3 billion in 2025, and as much as $7 billion in 2027 | Michael Rubin on CNBC, reported by Benzinga | October 14, 2026 |
| Fanatics betting ads | About $350 million this year, up to $1 billion in 2027 | Rubin on CNBC, reported by Covers and Benzinga | October 14, 2026 |
| Fanatics betting ads, earlier range | $350 million this year, then $800 million or $1 billion in 2027 | Rubin to Bloomberg, as quoted by Legal Sports Report | October 2, 2026 |
Separate totals, not one combined budget. CNBC, October 14, 2026. Bloomberg, October 2, 2026.
Merchandise revenue is the cash he pointed at
Group sales, not a sportsbook profit line, are what he cited. Sports Business Journal, quoting Bloomberg on October 2, 2026, said merchandise and collectibles would help lift total revenue about 40% to about $14 billion this year, with roughly $2 billion of that from sports gambling.
He also told Bloomberg he owns 31% of Fanatics and has no interest in a public listing in the near term or the medium term.
That $2 billion is gambling revenue, not profit. A $1 billion ad budget would equal half of it only if revenue did not grow, and Rubin did not promise a flat line. The October 14 interview does not turn the earlier range into a single approved figure.
Prediction markets are the rivals in the spend case
Rubin counted five companies after the same customer on October 14: FanDuel, DraftKings, Kalshi, Polymarket and Fanatics.
BetMGM and bet365 stay on his list as books that can still take users. FanDuel and DraftKings quit the American Gaming Association over prediction markets, so the split was already public in 2026.
Fanatics Markets launched in December 2025 and is in 22 states that do not overlap its sportsbook states, Covers reported. The sportsbook had opened in January 2023 at the Washington Commanders' Northwest Stadium, then called FedEx Field, with the app following in August.
New York's move to limit artificial intelligence in mobile sportsbook promotions is a 2026 rule on the message.
A 10% share is still a distant third
Covers put FanDuel and DraftKings together at 75% to 80% of national sports betting share. Fanatics, on the October 14 estimate, is near 10% and still the third Rubin said he dislikes. The gap is why the ad line exists.
A louder buy can raise trials. It does not, on these figures, turn a 10% book into the share those two already hold. Public rivals answer to shareholders who ask what the spend did to the hold. Rubin, with 31% of a private company, skips that quarterly call.
The dated test is calendar 2027. Rubin said on October 14 that Fanatics expects to issue more than $2 billion in FanCash that year, with 97% to 98% redeemed within 12 months.
This article is informational analysis only and is not betting advice.
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Nine-year crypto and forex veteran covering token analysis, prediction markets, and blockchain-based gambling infrastructure. Founder, writer, and consultant specialising in the intersection of digital assets and iGaming.
