Fanatics Sportsbook announced Wednesday evening that it will begin migrating PointsBet’s platform in Illinois after completing its $225 million acquisition of the Australia-based sportsbook.

The move comes after the Illinois Gaming Board approved Fanatics Sportsbook for a Management Services Provider license, which is required to offer mobile sports betting in the state, last month. PointsBet had been operating with a temporary permit in Illinois since its launch in September 2020. Fanatics acquired PointsBet last June, though it needed to increase its purchase price by $75 million after a late $195 million bid from DraftKings.

Illinois will be the 20th state where the Fanatics sports betting app will be available and completes a lengthy state-by-state process of migrating its platforms from PointsBet. Entering Illinois will also give Fanatics Sportsbook access to 95% of the online sports bettor marketplace in the U.S.

The launch will also cap a strong closing kick in which Fanatics Sportsbook launched in seven states since the beginning of February. Like its predecessor, Fanatics will be tethered to Hawthorne Race Course and also offer retail wagering there and at off-track betting sites operating in Prospect Heights, Villa Park, and Crestwood in the Chicagoland area.

8/x #SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) March 29, 2024

Illinois was PointsBet’s best performing state in terms of handle and exceeded $2 billion worth of wagers all-time in January. The $53.2 million handle represented 4.3% of the $1.25 billion worth of wagers made online in the opening month of 2024.

The $586.7 million in handle for the 2023 calendar year, though, was down 22.7% compared to 2022 as Caesars Sports finally found solid footing and contributed to a change in the handle pecking order behind FanDuel and DraftKings. PointsBet’s year-over-year revenue declined only 1.3% to $53.1 million thanks to a 9.1% hold that was nearly two percentage points higher than the 7.1% attained in 2022.

Fanatics Sportsbook will be one of eight mobile operators in the state and the second rebranded mobile app, with ESPN BET launching in mid-November. Circa Sports was the last new entrant in the Illinois digital landscape, launching operations last fall.

PointsBet had been competing on a third tier of operators with Caesars and BetMGM for the fifth through seventh spots for handle. ESPN BET quickly made inroads in Illinois following PENN Entertainment’s rebrand from Barstool Sportsbook and overtook BetRivers for the No. 3 spot among mobile sportsbooks for action in both December and January.