The Fanatics Betting and Gaming arm of sports apparel giant Fanatics has announced the appointment of Hank Couture to the new position of chief operating officer.
Couture will join the operator’s executive team and support the development of strategies across operations as the Fanatics Sportsbook prepares to launch nationwide in the US in mid-2023.
He joins Fanatics after seven years with DoorDash, a technology business that connects consumers with local businesses. Couture served in several roles with DoorDash, most recently as vice president for the US marketplace.
Prior to this, he worked in equity derivative structuring for Goldman Sachs for two years.
“This is an exciting opportunity to build something from the ground up,” Couture said. “I look forward to bringing my knowledge and experience in building DoorDash to the sports betting industry and help build something that exceeds expectations for our customers.”
Fanatics Betting and Gaming chief executive Matt King added: “We are excited to add Hank to our leadership team as COO. Hank’s experience in building one of the largest marketplaces in the US is exactly the type of person we are looking for at Fanatics Betting and Gaming.
“As our new COO, his impressive track record of success will provide us with valuable insight as we build a sportsbook that is easy to use, trustworthy and more rewarding for sports fans.”
Fanatics opened for business at the Washington Commanders’ FedExField in January and in doing so became the first retail sportsbook to open inside an National Football League (NFL) venue.
Also in January, Fanatics announced it would use Amelco’s source code to power its sports betting product and secured approval to launch in Massachusetts.
Reports also emerged that Fanatics had entered into discussions to purchase the BetParx sportsbook as part of plans to expand its gaming presence, while the business joined the International Betting Integrity Association.