A ‘scrappy startup’ mentality fuels Fanatics’ sense of competitiveness and growth

Fanatics Inc., the global digital sports platform that includes licensed sports merchandise, trading cards and collectibles, and sports betting, is really just a $13 billion "scrappy startup," according to founder and CEO Michael Rubin.

"I think you need that [scrappy startup] mentality to run a successful business, because if not, everybody's coming for you," Rubin said during his keynote session at NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show. "You lose that mentality, you'll be dead. Competition takes you out."

Rubin has always been a risk-taker, building his first company GSI Commerce as a marketing services solution for big brands and retailers before selling it to eBay in 2011. "We got the strategy right, but I think our execution wasn't near good enough, and I never loved the core business."

His next company was his passion project — Fanatics. "When we started in 2011, we said, ‘We're about a $250 million licensed sports retailer and … we're going to completely differentiate this business.' So, we did that, building it from a $250 million business to a $7 billion division within a $13 billion revenue company. But then we really reinvented the entire company to create the only digital sports platform, and today we have more than 140 million customers. I'd say Fanatics is one of the most important brands in sport, and I think we're just getting started."

It was that startup mentality that emboldened Rubin to jump into the highly competitive sports betting industry, already dominated by FanDuel and DraftKings. In 2023, he launched Fanatics Sportsbook. "This was the one business where everybody said we were crazy for entering the betting game business," Rubin said.

Expanding into sports betting made perfect sense for Rubin, who reminisced about sneaking off to Atlantic City with friends when he was 12 years old and winning $3,000. "I've always been on the wrong side of the gaming business as a customer. I think I've helped build some casinos in Las Vegas with my contributions."

Since its launch, Fanatics Sportsbook has grown faster than its two competitors, taking in 25 billion bets in 2025 and reaching $850 million in revenue. "It's our biggest bet, and we love it. And we think, [by] 2030, we think it's probably our biggest and most profitable business."
 

As someone who enjoys gambling, Rubin says he understands the gambling business and what customers want, including incentivizing play. Players accrue FanCash every time they place bet on the Fanatic Sportsbook or in a retail location. That currency can then be used to buy items at Fanatics stores online or any of the thousands of Fanatics partner retailers.

This year, Rubin said, Fanatics will have redeemed $1 billion in FanCash. "People love this currency. Win or lose, if you bet with Fanatics, you get FanCash."

Whether it's sports merchandising, trading cards and collectibles, or sports betting, there are two metrics Rubin considers before going into a new industry: Can the company make it better for fans and can he make a profit?

"We won't get into any business that we don't think we can make it better for the customer," he said, and "we can make at least a billion dollars of profit off that business."

With that in mind, Fanatics is entering the credit card industry later this spring, Rubin announced at NRF 2026. The new Fanatics credit card will build on the existing platform and relationships that Rubin and his team of 220,000 employees have built.

"We can do something that's great for our ecosystem and get people that much more engaged," he said. "So that, I think, will be our fourth profitable business."