The American Gaming Association (AGA) is facing another round of exits as two key stakeholders in gaming relinquish their memberships with the trade group.
Sportradar and OpenBet are the latest two gambling companies to leave the AGA, adding to several exits by major players in the gaming industry over the last six months. Sportradar and OpenBet are leaving the AGA as suppliers that provide data and content.
“We can confirm that Sportradar and OpenBet are no longer members of the AGA and wish them well in their future endeavors,” an AGA spokesperson told SBC Americas.
OpenBet declined to comment on its exit from the AGA, while Sportradar has yet to respond to a request for comment. OpenBet and Sportradar have not explicitly declared their reasons for leaving the AGA, but the trade group’s recent efforts to combat the proliferation of sports event contracts may be a factor. Last year, Sportradar declared that prediction markets provide it with growth potential, but the company is being cautious in its approach to embracing the vertical. OpenBet has not announced formal plans to enter the prediction market space despite it deciding to part ways with the AGA.
AGA’s stance on sports event contracts
Last September, the AGA and market research company YouGov commissioned a report that provided data indicating that roughly 85% of respondents consider sports event contracts to resemble gambling.
Earlier this month, AGA CEO Bill Miller sent a letter to Senate and House members raising concerns about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) self-certification process for prediction markets to offer trading on sports event contracts. The AGA and the Indian Gaming Association believe the self-certification process lacks oversight, allowing CFTC-registered prediction markets to offer event contracts that resemble gambling.
The AGA also takes issue with partnerships between sports leagues and prediction markets, notably the NHL’s recent deals with Kalshi and Polymarket. The NHL is the first major U.S. sports league to make the CFTC-registered prediction markets official partners. Miller considers the NHL’s prediction market deals “deeply troubling” and “dangerous.”
Major operators decide to leave AGA
The AGA’s stance on prediction markets and sports event contracts led to some of the largest gambling brands in the U.S. to relinquish their membership with the trade group.
Last November, FanDuel and DraftKings resigned from the AGA in preparation for launching sports event contracts in markets where online sports betting is not authorized.
DraftKings and FanDuel left the AGA over the trade group’s perception of sports event contracts. The two gambling brands left the AGA after several years of membership.
Fanatics is also no longer a member of the AGA, leaving the trade group one month after DraftKings and FanDuel vacated their memberships. Fanatics left the AGA one week after initially launching its standalone prediction market platform, Fanatics Markets, in over 10 states. Fanatics Markets has since expanded its reach to more than 20 U.S. markets.
