Round two of the sportsbook wars has just begun.
And I’m not talking about Kalshi, or Polymarket, or sweepstakes, or offshores, or whatever. I’m talking about old-school sportsbooks — you know, the ones that have been around since the first Trump administration — going toe-to-toe in an effort to collect, get, and keep customers.
I say this in light of DraftKings’ introduction Friday of its Early Exit program, which — nutshelling here — is a near-exact copy of Fanatics Sportsbook’s Fair Play program.
What both of these things are is simple: You bet a player prop, the player exits the game before a prescribed time, you get your money back.
Oh sure, there are differences. Fanatics refunds the money, DraftKings refunds in cash credits, you say tomato, I say to-mah-toe. Bottom line is the same: I bet on Pete Alonso to hit a home run tonight, he stubs his toe in the dugout, he leaves the game before his second plate appearance, I get my money back.
This type of behavior upsets a certain segment of the sports betting world, specifically old-school types who believe a bet is a bet is a bet and it doesn’t matter if God himself comes down from the heavens and pulls a hammy in the first quarter, you’re not getting your stake back.
And while I certainly understand this sentiment — after all, a bet is a bet is a bet — I also would prefer to get my money back.
I’m not a pro bettor. I’m a recreational bettor. And since we know full well the DraftKingses and Fanaticses of the world don’t want to be messing with pro bettors — (cough, cough) limits — why shouldn’t they start doing things that appeal to the rec set?
And speaking for the rec set, allow me to say this: Yes, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes, give me back my money.
Not new
Fanatics didn’t invent this. DraftKings didn’t invent this. As long as there have been online sportsbooks doing legal business in America — all seven years of it — this idea has been part of the ecosystem.
The difference before Fanatics introduced Fair Play? There was no rhyme or reason. Sometimes Anthony Davis went to the locker room and bets were refunded by this sportsbook or that sportsbook. Sometimes Davis went to the locker room and your money went with him.
But what Fanatics and now DraftKings have done is clearly state their intentions. If this happens, then you get your money back. If that happens, you don’t.
And yes, I think the fact that DraftKings is aping Fanatics here is bigger news than the industry thinks it is.
Here comes Fanatics
DraftKings and FanDuel are the 800-pound gorillas in the online sports betting world. Other companies have tried to scale the heights, and no one has come close.
That includes Fanatics, although it has quickly risen to bronze medal status in many states.
Clearly, between the heavy-duty braintrust at the betting arm of the company, along with its must-be millions of names-long mailing list, Fanatics has made inroads.
So much so that DraftKings saw fit to virtually copy the Fair Play program.
And frankly, if you’re betting a player prop — or building a parlay with a player prop — it seems almost foolish to bet anywhere other than these two books at this point.
“But the odds must be worse!” the sharp among you are screaming.
Well, sure. Sometimes.
That Alonso home run prop I mentioned above? It’s +320 at DraftKings. It’s +315 at Fanatics. It’s … +350 at FanDuel.
Alonso homers on my $10 bet, I win $32, or $31.50, or $35.
One is objectively better.
But Alonso leaves the game early, I get my money back at two of the three. That’s worth something, right?
It’s not always like this. For instance, in the same game, Brandon Nimmo to hit a homer is +370 at DraftKings, +380 at Fanatics, and … +360 at FanDuel. Nimmo knocks a homer? Glad I’m at Fanatics. Nimmo knocks his noggin and is knocked out? Still glad I’m at Fanatics.
Settle the score
Now about those sportsbook wars … as my colleague Daniel O’Boyle pointed out, Fanatics is uniquely positioned in the world of legal American online sportsbooks, as the sports betting arm is worth less than 4% of the company’s bottom line.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, BetMGM, and so on, they’re gambling companies. They don’t have a massive apparel and collectible business to buffer any sports betting losses.
Fanatics does. This allows the sportsbook arm to push the envelope, if it so chooses, in customer satisfaction.
Again — if a prop is more or less equal across all sportsbooks, and you’re in a state with access to all the top operators, why bet anywhere else besides Fanatics or DraftKings at this point? You’d be doing yourself a disservice.
And while I don’t know this for a fact, I cannot believe for one second that the DraftKings brass was particularly enthused about introducing Early Exit. But I’m willing to bet the higher-ups saw what I saw: You’d be silly to bet a player prop — odds notwithstanding — anywhere but Fanatics.
I predict it will be a matter of a month or two before FanDuel joins the money-back brigade.
And at that point, the ball will bounce back to the Fanatics side of the court. And based on its short history, I don’t expect Fanatics Sportsbook to take it and go home.
I fully expect the decision-makers there to rocket the ball back and do something that is customer-friendly and forces bettors — and other books — to question their choices.
I don’t know what that will be, but one could imagine … cancellation of up to $XXX amount in bets per year, or … or maybe even a “Bad Beat Refund Bank” where you accumulate credits every time you lose a bet … or … who knows. And while these ideas sound crazy, so did Fair Play, until it wasn’t.
We’re no longer in the era where everyone’s fighting over which app gets onto your phone. Now we’re in the era of which gets tapped on your phone.
And the Early Exit/Fair Play copycatting is notable not because it’s some revolutionary idea, but because it signals that DraftKings sees Fanatics as a real threat. Not a curiosity. Not a niche brand. A threat. A company with deep pockets, a shiny app, and a massive non-betting customer base to market to.
So, yeah, round two has started.
Round one was about market access, and it was the story of DraftKings and FanDuel.
Round two is about customer experience, and this is shaping up to be Fanatics’ tale to tell.
