Fanatics follows up prediction market launch with FIFA World Cup 2026 tie-up

• Fanatics is expanding further after announcing prediction markets with an apparel-focused FIFA World Cup 2026 partnership
• The company will have retail operations selling merchandise on-site at the 16 host stadiums of the world’s biggest soccer competition
• At the same time, Fanatics’ betting and gaming division is expanding into prediction markets

Fanatics has signed a brand-new partnership with FIFA to become the official on-site retail and merchandise licensee for the World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

While already a fixture in the sports betting space and, since last week, in prediction markets, Fanatics is capitalizing on its original expertise as a retailer of sports apparel and merch, with the company delivering on yet another exciting partnership.

Fanatics to capitalize on its sports apparel expertise for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026

The new deal was confirmed on Thursday, December 4, and it further expands the company’s expertise in delivering a well-rounded experience to sports fans across the globe.

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to be bigger than ever, with 104 matches played in total across 16 stadiums across the three host countries, Fanatics Commerce CEO Andrew Low Ah Kee had this to add:

"There is no larger sporting event in the entire world than the World Cup … we’ve been doing a lot of events; this is the biggest one we’ll have done yet."

Fanatics will have retail operations at each of the host stadiums and will also feature at FIFA fan festivals, bringing apparel and merch to fans first-hand, requiring some logistical re-think to ensure that the company delivers on the expected experience to fans.

To address this, the company has reached out to partners, brands, vendors, and manufacturers, ensuring that it will be able to provide the required merchandise in the numbers expected by fans across North America.

At the same time, Fanatic has been delivering coups across its other divisions, with the company launching prediction markets in 24 states across the US, the last of which rolled out on Friday, December 5.

Sports betting division expands aggressively into prediction markets

Prediction markets have been a hotly debated topic across the United States, with state gambling regulators and attorneys general opposing their rapid expansion and arguing that they should be regulated as a form of betting product.

Platforms such as Kalshi have been aggressively expanding, however, and despite some temporary setbacks in Nevada, they have remained mostly unchecked in their growth in the USA.

At the same time, Fanatics is hardly the only mainstream sportsbook to pursue growth in the vertical, with fellow betting platforms, FanDuel and DraftKings, exiting the American Gaming Association and surrendering their betting licenses in Nevada as they are doubling down on prediction markets, which they see as the future of their business model.

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