Fanatics, the $ 18 billion conglomerate that is the leader in sporting goods, licensing and recently collectible cards, is expected to close a deal to buy a sports betting operation soon.

Sources say meetings with Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and Swedish company Betsson have been productive and the company may soon buy one.

After Fanatics hired FanDuel CEO Matt King and The Action Network COO Ari Borod, they began to build a team, but sources said it would be impossible for them to come back from zero. Initial talks were held with DraftKings as part of a mega deal, but things faltered.

Rush Street makes a lot of sense. Despite being in 10 states, including Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and in the top five in terms of gross online sports betting income, they have the lowest marks for a company of their size.

In other words, they can easily change their name for an acquirer like Fanatics or even be renamed ESPN Sportsbook.

Sources claim RSI tops the rights to ESPN’s name in gambling, one of the reasons Rush Street worked to win Connecticut’s third skin with the lottery after DraftKings and FanDuel associated with the two Amerindian tribes. It was recently reported by The Wall Street Journal that ESPN is looking to sell a sports betting rights package for $ 3 billion.

Fanatics and RSI have no comment on the talks.

RSI stock jumped 6.6% in the first hour of The Action Network’s reporting.

Betsson would be more of a backend technology acquisition and another leap forward for Fanatics. Although it has an impressive iGaming product, it is not yet working in the United States.

Fanatics have recently taken action, including shaking up the world of sports trading cards by acquiring the future rights to manufacture MLB, NFL and NBA cards. By acquiring the future licenses and cutting the leagues and unions into a stake, they have effectively made current rights holders like Topps and Panini a lame duck.

After Fanatics made the deal with MLB, Mudrick Capital, which was within 24 hours of a vote to make Topps public in a PSPC, canceled the plans.