BetMGM vs FanDuel is really a question about who is standing behind the app once you close it. Both are state-licensed US sportsbooks with casino products in a handful of overlapping states, both trace part of their story to a much older gambling company, and both are dark in California, Texas, and Florida. Where they split is ownership — and that split changed more recently on FanDuel’s side than most comparison pages have caught up to.
One is still a joint venture. One isn’t anymore
BetMGM has never been a single-owner brand. It launched in 2018 as a 50/50 joint venture between MGM Resorts International — the Nasdaq casino operator behind a string of Las Vegas properties — and Entain, the London-listed group that also runs Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK. As of September 2026, that 50/50 split still holds, despite periodic reporting that MGM was shopping for a full buyout.
FanDuel used to have a comparable multi-party structure. Not anymore. In 2025, Flutter Entertainment plc closed a roughly $1.76 billion deal to buy out Boyd Gaming’s remaining 5% stake, taking its ownership of FanDuel to 100%. FanDuel is now a wholly owned subsidiary answering to one parent company, while BetMGM still answers to two.
Why this matters to a bettor: ownership structure doesn’t change your odds or your withdrawal speed, but it does change who ultimately profits from your losses and who a regulator is actually negotiating with if either brand’s license comes into question.
The footprint gap is one state
As of September 2026, FanDuel Sportsbook is live in 24 states plus Washington D.C.; BetMGM is live in 23 states plus D.C. That is a near-total overlap, not a meaningful edge either direction — a reader deciding between the two should check their own state page rather than trust a one-state gap that could close next legislative session. Neither brand has a sportsbook in California, Texas, or Florida, and BetMGM has no separate DFS product to point a dark-state reader toward the way FanDuel does.
Casino: FanDuel’s map is one state wider
FanDuel Casino runs in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, plus Ontario, Canada. BetMGM Casino covers Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — the same four states minus Connecticut, and with no Canadian presence. If online casino matters more to you than sportsbook, that Connecticut gap is the one concrete difference worth knowing before you pick.
Which one for who
Live somewhere only one of the two is licensed? That decides it, full stop — read the state page, not this one. Live where both are available? Pick BetMGM if a Las Vegas casino operator’s name on half the ownership stake means something to you, or if you already use Borgata or another MGM-linked product. Pick FanDuel if you want the slightly wider sportsbook map, the extra casino state, or the simplicity of one public parent company instead of a two-way joint venture. In a dark state, neither has anything to offer you yet, and no comparison changes that.
This page does not point dark-state readers toward an offshore alternative. If neither BetMGM nor FanDuel has a sportsbook where you live, that is the honest answer — not a reason to look for a workaround.