BetMGM and Underdog show up side by side in gambling-app comparisons often enough that it's worth asking whether they actually compete. They don't, not directly. BetMGM is the MGM Resorts / Entain joint-venture sportsbook, licensed and live in 23 states plus D.C. as of September 2026. Underdog is a Brooklyn daily fantasy company that briefly ran its own real-money sportsbook, closed it nationwide in December 2025, and now also operates a federally licensed prediction exchange. Same search results, different products entirely.
BetMGM vs Underdog, side by side
| BetMGM | Underdog | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2018, Jersey City, NJ (MGM/Entain JV) | 2020, Brooklyn, NY |
| Core license | Individual state sportsbook licenses, 23 states + D.C. | DFS exemption (Classic Pick'em); state-by-state license (Pick'em Champions) |
| Sportsbook status | Live and expanding — Missouri added Dec. 1, 2025 | Closed nationwide, December 2025 |
| Casino / other product | Online casino in MI, NJ, PA, WV only | No casino; Underdog Predict (CFTC-licensed exchange), launched July 2026 |
| Biggest regulatory event | State-by-state sportsbook licensing, ongoing | $17.5 million New York settlement, March 2025 |
| Ownership | 50/50 JV: MGM Resorts International + Entain | Privately held |
Is BetMGM or Underdog Legal in Your State?
The two maps don't line up because they aren't measuring the same thing. BetMGM works the way a state-licensed sportsbook is supposed to: on in 23 states plus D.C. because a regulator approved it, off everywhere else, with Oregon and Washington requiring in-person presence at a partner casino. Underdog's Classic Pick'em runs under the DFS exemption in roughly 15 states and is blocked outright in Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Washington — a completely separate legal framework from a sportsbook license.
The sportsbook question has one answer now. Underdog is not a sportsbook alternative to BetMGM anymore. It closed its book nationwide in December 2025, settling every open North Carolina wager rather than expand further. If you want to bet a line, BetMGM is the one of these two names still doing that.
Is BetMGM or Underdog More Legit?
BetMGM's legitimacy is structural: two publicly traded parent companies, a named state gaming regulator everywhere it operates, and a public 2025 that posted roughly $2.8 billion in net revenue. Underdog's is a track record with a rougher patch in it — the $17.5 million New York settlement it paid in March 2025 over contests regulators said exceeded its old permit, followed by an exit from that state. What happened after matters too: Underdog kept operating everywhere else and built out its own CFTC registrations for Underdog Predict rather than fold. Paying a fine and continuing to run a business is a different story than a shutdown.
Product: A Sportsbook-Led Casino Group vs a DFS App
BetMGM is sportsbook-first, with a narrower online casino limited to Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — there is no pick'em product anywhere in that lineup. Underdog has no sportsbook or casino left at all. What it does have is Classic Pick'em, the peer-to-peer Pick'em Champions launched in New Jersey and Delaware in March 2025, and the standalone Underdog Predict exchange. A reader wanting to bet on a specific game outcome against a house line is really asking about BetMGM. A reader wanting to build a roster of player projections is asking about Underdog, and neither brand covers the other's category.
Which One for Who
In a state where BetMGM is licensed and a reader wants a moneyline, spread, or parlay, BetMGM is the only one of these two names still offering that. A reader who wants pick'em-style DFS contests should check which Underdog product — Classic Pick'em or Pick'em Champions — is actually live in their state, since the two have different approvals. A reader curious about a federally licensed prediction-market product instead of either sportsbook or DFS is really asking about Underdog Predict, a third thing closer in structure to Kalshi than to BetMGM's sportsbook or Underdog's own DFS roots.
Neither company is presented here as a way to make money. Treat a deposit into either one as entertainment spend, not income. If gambling stops being entertainment, call 1-800-GAMBLER.