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OpenBet and Sportradar have now joined the growing list of companies walking away from the American Gaming Association.
While no official explanation has been given, the reason is widely understood to be prediction markets. AGA’s Senior Director of Strategic Communications, Dara Cohen, confirmed to industry outlet InGame that the issue is at the base of the departures.
Five major exits in three months
This trend began late last year when DraftKings and FanDuel left the association in November. Weeks later, Fanatics followed suit, just days after announcing its own prediction market platform. On December 3, the company launched Fanatics Markets, and by the following week, its name had already disappeared from AGA’s membership list.
An AGA spokesperson confirmed the withdrawal, while Fanatics explained the move through Kevin Hennessy, Vice President of Communications:
“Fanatics Betting and Gaming has elected to withdraw its membership from the American Gaming Association. While we respect the work that the AGA does for the regulated gaming market, we have a difference of opinion on what that means when it comes to prediction markets. This was not a decision that we took lightly.”
AGA continues with anti-prediction market stance
Following the exits, the American Gaming Association and the Indian Gaming Association issued a joint letter to Congress in January. They warned that prediction markets were offering sports contracts that looked like legal bets but operated outside the law.
Industry leaders argue that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s failure to act has allowed these markets to grow unchecked. They say the gap undermines state authority, weakens tribal sovereignty, and ignores federal rules meant to protect consumers and financial markets.
In their letter, the groups stressed that “congressional consideration of cryptocurrency market structure legislation provides an important, bipartisan opportunity to prevent sports betting and casino gambling under the guise of ‘event contracts.’”
The AGA, which represents commercial casinos, sports betting, iGaming operators, and suppliers, joined forces with the IGA, which speaks for more than 180 tribal nations. Together, they highlighted the size of the legal market, noting that “our associations represent the legal regulated gaming industry in the United States that generates $329 billion in annual economic impact, produces $53 billion in tax revenue, and supports 1.8 million jobs.”
Prediction market/State regulators’ legal battles heat up
For most of last year, prediction markets were winning in court. They argued that approval from the CFTC gave them the right to operate everywhere in the country. That claim helped platforms like Kalshi grow fast, even while states tried to push back. But things are starting to change.
On January 20, a Massachusetts judge gave the state a win by blocking Kalshi from offering sports‑related contracts unless it got a sports betting license. The judge also rejected Kalshi’s claim that federal commodities law cancels out state gambling rules.
New Jersey regulators quickly used that ruling in their own case, filing it as extra support against Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction. Ohio followed soon after, showing that more states are ready to lean on the Massachusetts decision.
