Two setbacks, two different kinds of recovery
Bally Bet vs MyBookie is a comparison between two sportsbooks that each have a real, disclosed setback in their recent history — just not the same setback, and not the same distance from it. Bally Bet’s original sportsbook platform, built on a $125 million acquisition called Bet.Works, failed badly enough to drive a $390.7 million impairment charge and force the book offline in several states in early 2023. Bally’s Corporation rebuilt it on Kambi Group PLC’s technology and relaunched state by state through 2024. MyBookie has no comparable rebuild story — instead, early 2025 brought its first formal state pushback, with Michigan and Florida regulators both sending cease-and-desist letters within weeks of each other.
Bally Bet vs MyBookie, side by side
| Bally Bet | MyBookie | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 (rebuilt on Kambi in 2024) | 2014, operated by Duranbah Limited N.V., Curaçao |
| Core license | State sportsbook licenses; operated by Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY) | Curaçao eGaming license — no US state license anywhere |
| Documented setback | Bet.Works platform failure → $390.7M impairment, offline in 2023 | Michigan (Jan 23, 2025) and Florida (Feb 5, 2025) cease-and-desist letters |
| Current status of that setback | Resolved — rebuilt on Kambi, relaunched through 2024 | Ongoing — no US state license has followed either letter |
| US footprint | Sportsbook live in 11 states as of Sept. 2026: AZ, CO, IN, IA, MD, MA, NJ, NY, OH, TN, VA | No published block list; reachable in most states with no license behind it |
| Fast payout method | Original deposit method or bank transfer; state-dependent casino cage cash-out | Bitcoin, typically 12-24 hours, no fee |
Is Bally Bet or MyBookie Legal Where You Live?
Bally Bet answers this with a license map: live in 11 states as of September 2026, dark everywhere else, no workaround. MyBookie answers it differently, because no US state licenses it anywhere — the honest word is unregulated, not a state-by-state legal status. The Michigan and Florida cease-and-desist letters from early 2025 are the clearest sign yet that regulators are starting to treat MyBookie the way they’ve treated other long-running offshore books.
Two kinds of trouble, two years apart. Bally Bet’s Bet.Works platform drove a $390.7 million impairment charge and went dark in several states in early 2023; the current Kambi-powered version relaunched through 2024 and is what’s live today. MyBookie’s Michigan cease-and-desist landed January 23, 2025, with Florida’s following February 5, naming MyBookie alongside Bovada and BetUS — and neither letter has yet been followed by a license.
Is Bally Bet or MyBookie Safer to Use?
Inside Bally Bet’s 11-state footprint, the safety case is straightforward: a named state gaming commission oversees the operator, geolocation enforces the state line, and the 2023 failure was a technology and business problem that predates the current product, not a licensing violation. MyBookie’s case rests on a real but lighter Curaçao license and more than a decade of forum-documented payouts — genuine evidence, but no substitute for a regulator who can compel a payout, and the two 2025 letters mean that gap is getting more attention, not less.
Which One For Who
In one of Bally Bet’s 11 live states, it’s the easy pick for anyone who wants a state-licensed product from a recognizable, publicly traded casino company — and who’s comfortable knowing its first platform failed before this one did. Outside that footprint, MyBookie is filling a real gap, not competing head-to-head: a crypto-comfortable bettor with no live Bally Bet option can still reach MyBookie’s sportsbook, casino, and racebook under one login, as long as they accept the offshore trade-off that comes with it. Neither book turns a house edge into income — both are entertainment products, 21+ only.