Complex has formed a new strategic partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Markets to launch a sports betting and trading content platform – Complex Bets – and introduce a "dedicated content vertical” centered around prediction markets and real-time wagering.
"Complex has always focused on the cultural energy that surrounds sports. Through our partnership with Fanatics, we're building a platform that brings fans into the moments that matter, combining storytelling, participation and community in a way that reflects how sports actually live within culture,” Complex CEO Aaron Levant said.
“With a successful track record of collaborating on some of the biggest merchandise drops with Fanatics, we look forward to bringing Complex's extensive reach and audience into prediction markets and the culture that surrounds it.
The media platform will create interactive and original storytelling programming using Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Markets’ data and insights, focusing primarily on sports and culture.
Within the release, Complex also stated: “Prediction markets, pop culture and real-time wagering have moved from the periphery to the center of how a new generation of fans experiences sports.
“Complex Bets is designed to meet that community where it already lives, delivering original programming and interactive formats built around the energy of sports betting and trading.”
The Complex Bets platform officially began rolling out on April 2, including programming such as a weekly long-form show on YouTube and a social series titled Complex on the Scene.
"Complex is one of the most culturally fluent brands in the world, and this partnership reflects where sports betting and trading is headed: beyond odds and into the conversations fans are already having,” Fanatics Betting and Gaming CMO Selena Kalvaria said.
“The current category is built around statistics and strategy, but fans experience sports through culture, community and the moments that transcend the scoreboard. Complex Bets gives us a platform to show up in that space in a way that's authentic to both brands. Together, we're building something that meets fans where they actually live and expands what a sportsbook can be.”
In an effort to expand upon traditional over/under sports wagers, Fanatics Sportsbook also launched its new Squad Bets parlay offering on March 24, where users can combine players across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and major soccer events to achieve a target score for the bet to hit.
Fanatics Sportsbook users can bet on markets such as assists in the NBA, strikeouts for professional baseball or shots in major soccer competitions.
The group of three-to-six players must achieve the predetermined target score for any winnings to be paid out, such as combining for 100 points or totaling 10 shots on goal.
Fanatics Betting and Gaming announced two appointments to its executive legal team on March 17, with Alex Smith stepping in as Chief Legal Officer and Sara Tait becoming the new SVP of Legal
