Fanatics severs ties with AGA over prediction markets

• Fanatics has become the latest betting major in the United States to quit the country’s most prominent gambling industry trade group
• The rift comes over a disagreement over the role of prediction markets and whether members ought to engage with the segment
• Fanatics, DraftKings and FanDuel are trying to nip Kalshi’s competitive advantage in the prediction market race

The keen observer may argue that the American Gaming Association is only as good as the sum total of its members.

What happens then, when most of its members start quitting in dissent over the trade group’s official policy that no longer reflects the opinions of its members?

AGA keeps bleeding members as prediction markets loom larger

If FanDuel and DraftKings are anything to go by, it means parting ways. Fanatics Sportsbook has now become the latest mainstream sports betting and gaming company to have followed suit and severed ties.

The rift is rooted in a little more than a disagreement - there is a complete lack of understanding between the group’s stance on prediction markets, and some of its most influential members.

DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics see prediction markets as the future - a vertical that is on track to multiply its value and challenge the old order, whereas the American Gaming Association is banking that legal pushback will eventually turf out what it essentially sees as a clever way to skirt gambling laws.

In a statement to SBC Americas, Fanatics VP of Communications Kevin Hennessy confirmed the leave and explained that it was not something that Fanatics originally sought to do:

"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."

Fanatics rolled out its prediction markets platform in a surprise move to rivals earlier in December, joining FanDuel and DraftKings, and sending a clear message that while betting companies may begrudge the likes of Kalshi, they are not prepared to let them dominate the emerging vertical.

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