Indianapolis Colts and Fanatics debut new rewards exchange powered by LAVA

Indianapolis Colts are the first pro sports team to expand fans’ rewards experience with Fanatics Sportsbook x LAVA partnership

The Indianapolis Colts are taking fan rewards to the next level with a first-of-its-kind partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook and LAVA. Beginning this season, Colts Connect members can exchange their ColtsCash for Fanatics FanCash and vice versa, unlocking new ways to redeem rewards across the Fanatics ecosystem, in addition to the Colts Pro Shop and concessions at Lucas Oil Stadium. By becoming the first NFL team to offer this innovative currency exchange, the Colts are expanding the value of their Colts Connect fan program and setting a new standard for how teams can enhance the fan experience.

What this means for fans

The Colts Connect program was built to bring fans closer to the team as well as the local community, creating an inclusive member network with exclusive benefits. Since its launch just two years ago, membership has already doubled, a testament to how much fans value the experience. Now, with a new partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook, the Colts are taking the program beyond in-stadium perks and giving fans even more ways to engage. For fans, this means:

• More flexibility: New ways to use rewards across retail, gameday, and digital experiences.

• Simplicity: This exchange is accessible directly through LAVA’s Colts Connect membership pass in the Indianapolis Colts mobile app, extending the team’s commitment to a seamless, cashless experience at Lucas Oil Stadium.

This is about more than gameday perks—it’s the integration of fan engagement, loyalty, and partner activation into one platform. This partnership is just the beginning, laying the foundation for future partner and brand collaborations that will change how we approach brand loyalty and rewards.

“This partnership is truly one-of-a-kind in sports, and we’re fortunate to have great partnerships with Fanatics Sportsbook and LAVA who helped bring it to life,” said Charlie Shin, VP of Analytics and Digital Innovation at the Indianapolis Colts. “Our vision for the Colts Connect program is to create a seamless experience that not only deepens our connection with fans but also ties them closer to the local community, delivering benefits that extend well beyond gameday.”

“Most traditional loyalty programs are siloed and restrictive—points you can only use in one store, for one purpose, on one brand’s terms,” says LAVA CEO Wen Miao. “With the Colts, Fanatics, and LAVA, we’re breaking down those walls. Fans can now move value seamlessly across gameday, retail, and digital, creating flexibility that legacy programs simply can’t offer. We’re setting a new standard for how teams and brands can engage their communities.”

Rolling out the rewards: Fanatics Sportsbook distributes $1M to select Colts Connect fans

To celebrate this partnership launch, Fanatics Sportsbook distributed $960,000 in FanCash to select Colts season ticket members at the start of the 2025 preseason. In just a little over a month, more than 40% of that FanCash was claimed. And even more exciting, members who did not receive the promotional FanCash are still taking advantage of the exchange. Of the conversions that have taken place, 30% are completely new Colts Connect members. On top of that, the Colts have seen an average of $12 incremental spend on top of what fans converted. 

“We’re seeing new fans come in and engage as well as new revenue through this partnership,” says Shin. “The Fanatics team is also able to offer their own loyalty members new avenues to use their member rewards outside of their digital ecosystem. And for LAVA, this launch signals a new model for brand partnerships in sports, bridging ecosystems to deliver more value for fans and partners alike. It’s a win-win-win. ” 

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Want to learn more about LAVA? Request a demo and we’ll show you how to start turning everyday interactions into customer moments that matter.

Turning engagement into impact: LAVA Moments 2025 recap

Last month, LAVA customers, partners, and team members came together for the very first LAVA Moments customer conference. Hosted at the InterContinental LA Downtown, the two-day event (September 18–19, 2025) brought together leaders from across sports, entertainment, retail, and more to explore how AI and real-time engagement are reshaping customer loyalty.

From inspiring keynotes and fireside chats with industry leaders to hands-on product training, customer success stories, and the debut of new LAVA product updates, the conference showcased the future of customer engagement in action. Our agenda included an impressive roster of speakers from the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Lions, Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles FC, Angel City FC, Apple, Adobe, Wicket, Ogilvy One, and even a surprise appearance from Metta World Peace and welcome message from Shaquille O’Neal.

But more than product updates and panels, LAVA Moments was about connection, celebrating how brands are designing experiences that delight customers, deepen loyalty, and unlock measurable business impact.

Customer spotlights & awards: Celebrating innovation in action

The most inspiring moments at the event came from our customers and industry leaders who are redefining what engagement, loyalty, and community mean today. From the Detroit Lions always looking for new ways to transform gameday experiences and the Indianapolis Colts expanding fan rewards through a first-of-its-kind partnership with Fanatics, to the Sacramento Kings sharing their journey to becoming NBA Team of the Year and winner of the NBA Innovation Award — each story demonstrated how powerful innovation can be when it’s built around creating moments that truly matter.

We also honored a few LAVA customers whose creativity and collaboration have shaped LAVA’s own journey, recognizing those who have been exceptional partners to us throughout the years.

• 6th Man of the Year Award - John Rinehart, President of the Sacramento Kings

• MVP of the Year Award - Tim Zenner, Sr. Director of Ticketing & Fan Engagement at the Detroit Lions

• Rookie of the Year Award - Charlie Shin, VP of Analytics & Digital Innovation at the Indianapolis Colts

• Crafty Veteran Award - Christian Lau, CTO of Los Angeles Football Club

Introducing LAVA gamification + rewards marketplace

While some updates aren’t ready to share on the blog just yet, one of the key product announcements made at the conference was the launch of LAVA’s new gamification features and rewards marketplace, providing new ways for customers to engage with your brand. Now, your loyalty members can play trivia games, join polls, and complete challenges—all while earning rewards they can redeem at your marketplace of products and experiences. It’s a unified system that lets you engage with your customers in more fun, flexible, and rewarding ways. Learn more in our announcement post.

Stay tuned for more product updates to come!

Key takeaways & trends

Attendees left LAVA Moments 2025 energized by the possibilities ahead. Here are a few key takeaways from the conference: 

• AI is becoming an integral part of how customers interact with brands—reshaping the future of engagement in real time.

• Brands are reclaiming the customer relationship by removing social media as the middleman and building direct, data-driven connections.

• A culture of innovation and experimentation empowers teams to keep discovering new ways to “make the magic” for their customers.

• Real-time AI and targeted rewards are turning every interaction into a measurable moment of connection and growth.

• Loyalty is no longer transactional—it’s built through everyday engagement within a connected ecosystem of partners in a broader community.

That’s a wrap!

A massive thank you to our customers, partners, and speakers who made the summit such a success. Together, we explored how real-time engagement and loyalty innovation are transforming industries—and we celebrated the trailblazers already putting these ideas into practice.

This is just the beginning. The conversations we started in Los Angeles will continue to shape how organizations connect with fans and customers in the moments that matter most.

We can’t wait to see you at the next LAVA Moments event. See you there next year!

LAVA launches new gamification features and rewards marketplace

LAVA has a major update on the way, including built-in gamification features and a rewards marketplace to transform how customers engage with their favorite brands. Now, your brand’s loyalty members can play trivia games, join polls, and complete challenges—all while earning rewards they can redeem at your marketplace of products and in-stadium experiences. It’s a unified system that lets you engage with your customers in more fun, flexible, and rewarding ways.

Unifying gamification, rewards, and real-time engagement

Instead of juggling separate tools for membership management, engagement, rewards, and gamification, your brand can run it all on LAVA and stay connected with customers beyond transactional touchpoints. Brands can use LAVA to launch games, send out personalized offers, and fulfill rewards, both online or in-person.

Powered by LAVA’s real-time engine and API integrations, you can engage people dynamically based on context—who the customer is, what’s happening right now, and where they are. The result: higher participation, measurable lifts in spend and loyalty, and fastest time to value. From sports and entertainment to retail, hospitality, and more, LAVA makes engagement fun for customers and operationally simple for organizations.

“Real-time engagement and the loyalty that ‘surprise and delight’ engenders has always been LAVA’s expertise,” says Wen Miao, CEO of LAVA. “We’re giving brands a new lever now: gamifying rewards to encourage behaviors and loyalty, and making spending those rewards effortless and joyful, both online and in person.”

What’s new

Gamification

Launch trivia, polls, forecasts, challenges, and voucher codes in just minutes.

• Integrated trivia, polls, and forecast games directly on the LAVA platform

• Flexible awards: per game or grouped via challenges

• Short-term or long-term challenges (e.g., single week or annual/season)

• Accessible via admin interface that’s easy for clients to create and manage

• Unified member experience: games playable in-app or on desktop

• Voucher codes can be distributed and redeemed via sponsors, promos, or special events

Pictured above: customer view of trivia games and challenges

Pictured above: admin view of creating a challenge

Rewards marketplace

Create a branded marketplace for customers to redeem their loyalty points or stored value on a variety of different rewards.

• Closes the loop, creating an “earn and burn” system on one platform

• Customers can redeem for products, experiences, or exclusive offers that are automatically added to their member passes

• Simple admin interface to track items, inventories, and purchases

• Marketplace purchases can be redeemed through LAVA app or point of sale integrations

Pictured above: customer view of branded marketplace

Customer engagement beyond the checkout

By bringing together games, rewards, and real-time personalization, we give members new ways to earn rewards from their favorite brands and spend them instantly. Marketing and customer engagement leaders can incentivize engagement between purchases and tie every interaction to a unified experience that turns play into higher participation, increased per cap spend, repeat transactions, and other measurable outcomes. 

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Ready to see LAVA in action? Request a demo and we’ll show you how to start turning everyday interactions into customer moments that matter.