Fanatics Sportsbook at Washington’s FedEx Field looks to give fans a greater NFL viewing experience
The sportsbook is the first of its kind inside an NFL stadium.
When the Washington Commanders faithful enter FedEx Field on Sunday for their team’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals under new ownership and a new quarterback, fans can experience the game in a different way.
In January, Fanatics Sportsbook became the first physical sportsbook to be placed inside of a NFL stadium, stamping Fanatics’ footprint in the sports betting space and opening the door for more NFL teams to follow suit.
“It’s a great place to come in and place a bet and watch a game and order some food,” said Ari Borod, Chief Business Officer of Fanatics Betting and Gaming. “[We] knew that having a physical space there, that establishes ourselves as a sports betting operator, would be really valuable.”
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The FedEx Field sportsbook addition coincided with NFL owners voting to allow physical sportsbooks to operate on game days starting with the 2023 season, with the caveat of allowing it in states where sports betting is already legal. That accounts for 19 of the NFL’s 32 teams.
“Getting people used to Fanatics being in the sports betting space and having a good time while they’re doing it is very important to us for our overall business,” Borod continued. “And in places like FedEx Field, you actually have the commerce store right near the sportsbook, you’re going to be able to create a Fanatics world concept that it’s really a place for sports fans versus it’s not necessarily a place for shoppers, not necessarily one place just for bettors, it’s for a sports fan generally to interact with their favorite sport.”
When the space officially opened Jan. 20, Commanders president Jason Wright told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the sportsbook will allow the team to “create a space for the community, for people to connect.”
“We did make a promise to be innovative, and to do things for our fans to give them a unique experience that others haven’t,” Wright added.
While the Fanatics Sportsbook at FedEx Field is currently the only sportsbook inside of a stadium, teams like the Cardinals (State Farm Stadium), along with the Giants and Jets (MetLife Stadium) have sportsbooks outside of their stadiums. The BetMGM Sportsbook on the Cardinals’ stadium campus was the first of its kind in the NFL, with its location (over 16,000 square feet, and two stories) opening at the start of the 2022 season.
Several other NFL teams have dedicated sportsbook lounges within the confines of their stadiums, including the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders and the Eagles. The Eagles declined to comment about potential plans of adding a sportsbook inside Lincoln Financial Field.
However, the Eagles will once again have the FanDuel Lounge, formerly the FoxBet Lounge, open on game day, team officials told The Inquirer. The lounge, which opened during the 2021 season, is a 4,000-square foot facility with an interactive studio and membership-only access to watch Eagles players entering the stadium.
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Growing trend across sports
In the major professional leagues landscape, 10 sportsbooks are affiliated with teams (not including sportsbook lounges) across NHL, MLB, NBA/WNBA, MLS and NFL. Brick and mortar sportsbooks exist in seven arenas or stadiums.
In 2023 alone, three sportsbooks have opened inside arenas or stadiums, including the Fanatics Sportsbook at FedEx Field; the DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs; and the Caesars Sportsbook at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The NBA has three teams (Suns, Wizards, Cavaliers) with sportsbooks inside arenas, with a fourth coming at Chicago’s United Center in the coming months.
» READ MORE: NBA’s high-tech partnership with Sportradar could change the face of in-game betting, and soon
“We think it’s great for fan engagement, it creates another touch point for our consumers,” said Scott Kaufman-Ross, the league’s head of gaming. “But for our fans that come to NBA games that want to bet on the games, providing them that experience, being able to do it on site versus having to drive somewhere else, only enhances the fan experience that much more.”
Fanatics recently opened a second sportsbook, outside of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ arena a few weeks ago, and launched its mobile app Aug. 16 in four states (Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tennessee). The sportsbook inside of FedEx field is open seven days a week, and ticketed fans on gameday can access the area from the sportsbook’s own entrance located at Gate H.
The Fanatics Sportsbook at FedEx Field joins the Capital One Arena, Nationals Park and Audi Field as the fourth in-stadium or arena sportsbook location in the D.C. area.