Line up BetMGM and PointsBet side by side and the comparison breaks in one direction fast. BetMGM is a licensed US sportsbook in 23 states plus Washington D.C. as of September 2026, with a narrower four-state casino product layered on top. PointsBet had a real US sportsbook business too, for about five years, before selling the whole thing to Fanatics Betting and Gaming in a deal that closed state by state and finished in April 2024. What is left of PointsBet today lives in Australia and Canada, not anywhere a US reader can reach it. Here is what each brand actually is, and what happened to the one that left.
BetMGM vs PointsBet, side by side
| BetMGM | PointsBet | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2018, joint venture of MGM Resorts & Entain | 2015, Melbourne, Australia |
| US sportsbook today | 23 states + D.C. (Sep 2026) | None — sold to Fanatics, April 2024 |
| Ownership | 50/50 MGM Resorts / Entain JV | ASX-listed (PBH); MIXI, Inc. controls 66.43% |
| Online casino | MI, NJ, PA, WV | None in the US; iGaming in Ontario only |
| Where it operates now | US only | Australia and Canada (Ontario, Alberta) only |
| Current regulatory note | None flagged in this review | AGCO proposed 5-day Ontario suspension, Feb. 2026 (appealing) |
Is BetMGM Legal Where You Are?
Check the list rather than assuming a national ad campaign means a national product. BetMGM sportsbook is licensed and live in 23 states plus D.C. as of September 2026 — Missouri was the most recent addition, joining December 1, 2025. Oregon and Washington are technically on the list but require being physically present at a BetMGM partner casino to use the app, which is closer to geofencing than a normal online launch. If your state isn’t on the list at all, there is no BetMGM sportsbook to open, full stop.
What Actually Happened to PointsBet
PointsBet is not a cautionary tale — it is a company that sold a business unit for real money and moved on. Fanatics Betting and Gaming paid $225 million for PointsBet’s entire American sportsbook, iGaming, retail betting operation, and its underlying Banach Technology platform, with the sale closing state by state and wrapping up in Illinois in April 2024. Every US PointsBet account converted automatically into a Fanatics Sportsbook account running the same tech under new ownership. Anyone still typing “PointsBet promo code” into a US search bar in 2026 is looking for a product that stopped existing over two years ago.
Not the same question anymore. “Is BetMGM legal in my state” is a real question with a state-specific answer. “Is PointsBet legal in my state” only has one answer for a US reader — no, anywhere — because there is no PointsBet US product left to be legal or illegal.
Is BetMGM Legit?
Yes, structurally and financially. It is a 50/50 joint venture between MGM Resorts International, a publicly traded Las Vegas casino operator, and Entain, a London-listed gambling group that also runs Ladbrokes and Coral. BetMGM posted roughly $2.8 billion in net revenue in 2025, its record year, and every state on its sportsbook list runs the product under that state’s gaming regulator. Ownership speculation about MGM buying out Entain’s half has circulated repeatedly; no such deal had closed as of this writing, so it remains a genuine 50/50 structure, not a wholly MGM-owned brand.
Is PointsBet Legit, Or Did It Just Disappear?
Legit, with an asterisk worth reading. PointsBet Holdings Limited still trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (PBH) and did not go bankrupt or lose a license — it exited the US on its own terms for $225 million and redirected its business toward Australia, its largest market by revenue, and Canada. In September 2025, Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc. acquired a controlling 66.43% stake through its MIXI Australia subsidiary. The asterisk: in February 2026, Ontario’s AGCO proposed a five-day licence suspension after finding a “systemic failure” to detect and report suspicious prop betting tied to the Jontay Porter NBA scandal. PointsBet is appealing and attributes the inaccurate 2024 disclosure to human error during an organizational transition, not an attempt to hide anything. That matter sits entirely inside PointsBet Canada and has nothing to do with BetMGM.
Casino Products: Both Trail Their Own Sportsbooks
BetMGM Casino is live in only four states — Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — well short of its 23-state sportsbook footprint. PointsBet has no US casino product at all anymore; its only remaining iGaming business runs in Ontario, where it has operated since the province’s regulated market opened on April 4, 2022. A US reader outside those four BetMGM states gets sportsbook only from either brand — from BetMGM if their state is licensed, and from neither if it isn’t.
Which One for Who
If you’re in the US, this isn’t really a two-way choice — check whether BetMGM is licensed in your state, and if it is, that’s the option on the table; PointsBet has nothing to offer you, and Fanatics Sportsbook is the closer descendant if you’re trying to recreate the old PointsBet experience. If you’re in Ontario or Alberta, BetMGM was never available to you, and PointsBet is a real, regulated option currently working through a contested AGCO matter worth knowing about before you deposit. Either way, neither app is a way to make money — both run on a house edge regardless of which joint venture or acquisition put the current name on the login screen. If gambling stops being entertainment, call 1-800-GAMBLER.