bet365 vs BetMGM pits an international bookmaking giant against a joint venture that only exists in North America. bet365 has taken bets since 2001 and is still majority family-owned by Denise Coates — a scale story bigger than almost anything else this site reviews. BetMGM has no equivalent global footprint, but as of September 2026 it is licensed in more US states than bet365 and runs a wider casino map on top of it. Global size and US reach are not the same question, and this page keeps them separate.
Is bet365 or BetMGM legit?
Both, on different evidence. bet365 is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (license 55148) plus the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner and Malta Gaming Authority for its international business, and its US sportsbook is state-licensed rather than offshore. BetMGM is backed by MGM Resorts International, a Nasdaq-listed casino operator with decades of Las Vegas properties behind its name, alongside Entain, a London-listed operator. Neither has a history of operating as an unlicensed offshore book.
bet365 vs BetMGM, side by side
| bet365 | BetMGM | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Majority family-owned (Denise Coates) | 50/50 joint venture, MGM Resorts & Entain |
| Founded | 2000, Stoke-on-Trent, England | 2018, Jersey City, New Jersey |
| US sportsbook footprint | 17 states | 23 states + D.C. |
| States bet365 has, BetMGM doesn’t | North Carolina | — |
| States BetMGM has, bet365 doesn’t | — | Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, West Virginia, Wyoming, D.C. |
| Casino states | NJ, PA | MI, NJ, PA, WV |
| International presence | UK, much of Europe, Australia, parts of Latin America | None comparable — US/D.C. only |
The state maps barely overlap by accident
BetMGM’s extra reach is not a rounding error — Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, West Virginia, and Wyoming are all states where a reader has a licensed BetMGM sportsbook and no legal bet365 option at all. Going the other direction, North Carolina is the one state bet365 reached that BetMGM has not. A reader who assumes the brand with the bigger global reputation automatically has the bigger US map would get North Carolina wrong and six states wrong in the other direction.
Casino gap: bet365 Casino runs through skins in just two states — New Jersey (Hard Rock Atlantic City) and Pennsylvania (Presque Isle Downs, since July 2024). BetMGM Casino adds Michigan and West Virginia on top of the same New Jersey/Pennsylvania pair, doubling the map.
Is bet365 or BetMGM safer to use?
Where both are licensed, the safety picture is close: state gaming regulator oversight, geolocation enforcement at the state line, and standard responsible-gambling tools apply to both operators equally. bet365 layers on a three-decade-plus UK regulatory track record from its international business; BetMGM layers on a Las Vegas casino operator’s name and public-company reporting from MGM Resorts. Neither structure changes the house edge, and neither guarantees a favorable outcome on a payout dispute.
Which one for who
Live somewhere only one is licensed? That settles it — read the state page instead of this one. Live where both are available? Pick BetMGM if the wider footprint matters or the MGM Resorts name carries weight from an existing casino relationship. Pick bet365 if North Carolina is home, if the casino product doesn’t matter to you, or if bet365’s much longer international track record outside the US is the deciding factor. Live in Texas, California, or Florida? Neither has a legal sportsbook for you yet, and this page does not point toward an offshore workaround as a substitute.