bet365 is the latest online sports betting company to decide that it is time to leave the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The British sportsbook is no longer a member of the U.S. industry association, as first reported on Tuesday by InGame’s Jill Dorson and confirmed to SBC Americas by both the operator and the AGA.
Retail casino focus not relevant, says bet365
A spokesperson for bet365 said via email that the company made the decision to leave the AGA as the association’s focus on land-based gaming does not align with bet365’s online gaming focus.
“As a digital-first operator, bet365 has pulled back from the AGA due to the organization’s focus on the retail casino industry,” read the statement. “We greatly value our industry partnerships and remain committed to working constructively with regulators and partners across the markets in which we operate.”
The timeline of bet365’s exit is uncertain. An AGA spokesperson told SBC Americas earlier on Tuesday that while bet365 is no longer a member, that change is not a new development. The association did not clarify the specifics of the situation.
Prediction market participants exit AGA
Whenever it did leave, bet365 is the fourth online-focused sports betting and casino gaming operator to leave the AGA in recent months.
DraftKings and FanDuel gave up their memberships in November, citing a difference of opinion over the prediction markets vertical. At that time, both gaming giants were preparing to launch their respective event contract trading arms. DraftKings Predictions and FanDuel Predicts both subsequently launched in December in numerous U.S. states.
Around the same time as those products hit the market, Fanatics Betting and Gaming also left the AGA. The Fanatics Markets prediction market product has been operational since December.
All but one SBA member has left AGA
bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel are all members of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), a coalition of five leading online sports betting and casino gaming operators. bet365 is the only one of that quartet that has not indicated any plans to begin offering a prediction markets product.
The fifth member of the SBA, BetMGM, is not listed as a member of the AGA in itself, but its two parent companies Entain and MGM Resorts International are each long-standing members. While DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel, as well as other online gaming companies like Underdog, PrizePicks, and Betr, have embraced the prediction markets opportunity, BetMGM leaders have reiterated several times that they will not pursue that vertical while its legality and regulatory standing remain the subject of court cases.
BetMGM, as well as other historic brick-and-mortar casino gaming companies like Caesars and PENN Entertainment, have stressed that they will not jeopardize the state gaming licenses that comprise a large portion of their business, even as their respective online gambling arms continue to grow and the market continues to evolve.
“Our position is clear and aligned with almost 40 state attorneys general, our regulators and our tribal partners: As the law stands today, sports prediction markets are, in essence, illegal sports betting,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt in October. BetMGM Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost told SBC Americas the same month that “we have no intention of launching into a world that’s opaque or vague.”
Unlike the likes of BetMGM, Caesars, PENN, FanDuel parent Flutter, and DraftKings, bet365 is not a publicly listed company and its leaders do not frequently offer comment on U.S. gambling issues. As such, its position on prediction markets is not well-documented.
bet365 invests heavily in US
Through it all, bet365 has continued to invest heavily in expanding its U.S. presence. It spent approximately $135m to open a new 120,000-square-foot headquarters in Denver in 2024 and added five online sports betting markets to its American footprint in 2025 — Illinois, Tennessee, Kansas, Maryland, and Missouri — as well as fleshing out its online casino platform in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In an annual financial report published in December, the operator said it has undertaken a major strategic pivot by focusing its presence on regulated markets worldwide, including the U.S.
Last week, it debuted its new campaign, titled ‘Winning is Everything’, that is being deployed across TV, digital, audio and social media channels throughout regulated markets in North America.
