Bet365 Just Quit the AGA — What’s Going On With the Sports Betting Industry?

There’s a bit of a civil war brewing in the sports betting industry, and it’s actually pretty important for anyone who bets on sports in America. Bet365, one of the world’s largest sportsbooks, has quit the American Gaming Association (AGA) — the trade group that represents the U.S. gambling industry in Washington. And it’s not alone. The AGA has been quietly losing members, and the split is growing.

Who Is the AGA and Why Does This Matter?

The American Gaming Association is essentially the lobbying arm of the legal gambling industry in the United States. Its members include casinos, sportsbooks, and other gaming companies, and the AGA advocates for their collective interests in Congress, with state legislatures, and with federal regulators.

When an organization as large and influential as bet365 walks away from the AGA, it signals a serious philosophical divide within the industry. This isn’t just insider baseball — the disputes playing out here will ultimately shape what kinds of bets you can place, on which platforms, and in which states.

What’s the Fight About?

The core disagreement is over prediction markets. Companies like Kalshi and Polymarket have emerged as legitimate competitors to traditional sportsbooks, and they operate under federal CFTC oversight rather than needing state-by-state licenses. That means they can offer sports betting in all 50 states.

Traditional sportsbooks — especially digital-only companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and bet365 — broke ties with the AGA in November 2025 over whether AGA members should be allowed to offer prediction market products. Land-based casino operators, who have invested heavily in physical sportsbooks and retail locations, are more resistant to the prediction market model.

The digital sportsbooks essentially said: if we can’t adapt to compete with prediction markets, we’re going to be left behind. The land-based casinos said: we have too much at stake in the current model to change.

What Does This Mean for You as a Bettor?

In the short term, not much changes. You can still use bet365, DraftKings, FanDuel, and all your other favorite sportsbooks exactly the same way. The split within the industry doesn’t affect your ability to bet today.

But longer term, this divide could:

Accelerate or slow state-by-state legalization: If the major sportsbooks and the AGA aren’t speaking with one voice in lobbying efforts, states considering legalization might see conflicting messages from the industry.

Affect how prediction markets are regulated: If the industry can’t agree on a unified position, federal and state regulators will have more room to set rules without industry consensus pushing back.

Change which products you see advertised: As prediction markets grow — Kalshi alone handled $800 million in March Madness trades this week — expect to see them advertised more aggressively, potentially alongside traditional sportsbooks.

The Gray Market Problem

One thing both sides of the AGA dispute agree on: the illegal offshore gambling market continues to grow. Platforms like bet online and others operating outside U.S. law are siphoning bettors away from regulated operators. When the legal industry fights among itself, it makes it harder to collectively address that problem.

For you as a bettor, the single most important thing you can do is stick to licensed, state-regulated sportsbooks. Industry politics aside, those platforms come with consumer protections, regulatory oversight, and recourse if something goes wrong. Offshore books offer none of that.

The Industry is Changing

The departure of bet365 and others from the AGA reflects a real tension in the sports betting industry about how to respond to the rise of prediction markets. It’s a story worth watching, because the outcome will shape the future of legal sports betting in America. For now, keep betting with the licensed sportsbooks you trust and stay tuned — this one is going to be interesting.