The largest U.S. online sports gambling companies by market share have abruptly quit the casino industry’s top trade group, according to numerous reports.
DraftKings and FanDuel, which offer legal online sports gambling in dozens of U.S. states, resigned from the American Gaming Association on Nov. 17.
The decision involves DraftKings and FanDuel’s respective upcoming launches of so-called “prediction market” products, a controversial form of federally regulated online gambling. The companies plan to launch these sports products in states such as California, Texas, and Georgia, which do not have state laws authorizing sports gambling.
Prediction markets involve buying and selling shares in binary markets on the outcome of sports, politics, pop culture events, and much more. Numerous states with legal sports gambling, notably Nevada, New York, and Massachusetts, have said that prediction markets constitute illegal sports gambling.
The companies plan to expand their online sports gambling footprint in the U.S. despite research showing that half of online sports gamblers are experiencing problems with their play. Gambling addiction carries elevated levels of suicide risk.
Tensions Over ‘Prediction’ Gambling
The AGA has slammed prediction market products from Kalshi and Polymarket, multibillion-dollar startups in the space that recently inked a sponsorship and data-integration partnership with the National Hockey League. Donald Trump Jr. is involved with Kalshi and Polymarket.
The AGA hasn’t publicly criticized the upcoming apps from DraftKings and FanDuel — dubbed DraftKings Predictions and FanDuel Predicts, respectively.
The split with the AGA was not contentious publicly, with DraftKings, FanDuel, and the AGA each issuing cordial statements.
Despite ending their memberships, DraftKings and FanDuel remain deeply entangled with the casino industry and its sports league partners. They’ll continue lobbying states for online gambling through another association, the Sports Betting Alliance.
“In discussion with DraftKings and FanDuel, the AGA has accepted their request to relinquish their membership, effective immediately,” the group said in a statement. “We wish them the best, and we expect to maintain close ties in our mission to promote and protect legal, regulated gaming.”
DraftKings, FanDuel, & AGA Still Need Each Other
For the most part, the gambling industry is united, though there has been division among AGA members regarding online casino gambling and now prediction markets. DraftKings and FanDuel are also the leaders in state-sanctioned online casino gambling.
Despite relinquishing their memberships, the parties will still need each other as sports gambling — in whatever form it takes — becomes increasingly controversial.
The state-sanctioned form of online sports gambling has been rocked in recent months by a series of scandals and negative polling.
The NBA and MLB each saw the federal government hand down indictments related to suspected game corruption involving prop bets. In October, the Pew Research Center released a poll showing that over 40% of Americans view legal sports gambling as a “bad thing for society.”
Threats of violence against athletes and coaches are also a growing issue, with 21% of sports bettors admitting to verbal abuse.
‘Bet Responsibly’
In 2021, FanDuel became the first mobile sportsbook operator to partner with the AGA’s “Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly.” campaign. FanDuel committed multi-million-dollar media inventory to push the AGA’s “responsible” messaging.
Industry messaging included calls for an NFL gambling budget, despite research showing budgets for online gambling are ineffective at reducing harm. The industry generates most of its revenue from a small group of users, according to multiple studies.
Later, DraftKings signed on to the same campaign in a joint announcement with the AGA.
The AGA had regularly cited DraftKings and FanDuel in its responsible-gambling and anti-offshore-sportsbook talking points, even as independent research found their social media marketing often failed to follow the AGA’s own guidelines.
In reference to prediction markets, DraftKings has deployed the phrase “responsible engagement.”
History Is a Circle?
DraftKings and FanDuel were outsiders in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) days in the mid-2010s. DFS-style online sports gambling was once in the casino industry’s crosshairs.
DFS allowed DraftKings and FanDuel to acquire users and dominate the traditional online sports gambling market following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Legal sportsbooks in the U.S. raked in $13.7 billion in 2024.
Later, DraftKings and FanDuel were the AGA’s poster children for so-called responsible gambling, despite clear evidence that a public health approach is superior.
In November 2025, the online gambling operators found themselves again on the outside because of another controversial form of sports gambling.
This time is slightly different, as the U.S. online sports gambling leaders can’t completely separate from the broader gambling industry whose primary trade group is now publicly at odds with their newest product line.
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