“DraftKings vs PointsBet” is the kind of search that assumes both names still work the same way they did a few years ago. One of them does. DraftKings is a Nasdaq-listed sportsbook that has spent 2024 through 2026 adding states. PointsBet, in the US sense most people mean, stopped existing in April 2024 — not because it collapsed, but because it sold the whole American business and walked away with $225 million. This page untangles what each brand actually is right now.
Is PointsBet Still Legal to Use in the US?
No, and there is no gray area to explain here. PointsBet sold its entire US sportsbook, iGaming platform, and retail sportsbooks — including the counter inside Commanders Field — to Fanatics Betting and Gaming. The deal closed state by state and finished in Illinois in April 2024. There is no PointsBet app to download, no PointsBet promo code that still works, and no state where a new PointsBet account is possible. DraftKings, across the same period, kept its own name and kept adding states, reaching 27 plus D.C. by August 2026, with Arkansas the most recent addition in March.
DraftKings vs PointsBet: What Each One Is in 2026
| DraftKings | PointsBet | |
|---|---|---|
| US sportsbook status | Live in 27 states plus D.C. | None — sold to Fanatics, closed April 2024 |
| Where it still operates | United States only | Australia and Canada (Ontario, Alberta) |
| Public listing | Nasdaq: DKNG | ASX: PBH |
| Ownership | Publicly held, no controlling parent | 66.43% controlled by Japan’s MIXI, Inc. since Sept. 2025 |
| Signature product | Standard fixed-odds sportsbook | PointsBetting spread wagers — did not transfer to Fanatics |
| Recent regulatory note | None flagged | Ontario AGCO proposed suspension, Feb. 2026 (appealed) |
Where the PointsBetting Wager Actually Went
PointsBet built its US following partly on PointsBetting, a spread-style bet where the payout scaled up or down with how far off a result landed — a bigger blowout meant a bigger win, and a bigger miss meant a bigger loss. It was distinctive enough that some bettors picked PointsBet over the bigger books specifically for it. That product did not survive the sale. Fanatics licensed the underlying Banach Technology platform but runs a conventional fixed-odds book, and DraftKings has never offered anything like it either. A reader who misses PointsBetting by name will not find a same-brand or DraftKings equivalent in the US today.
The short version: every US PointsBet account converted automatically into a Fanatics Sportsbook account when the $225 million deal closed in April 2024. DraftKings was never part of that transaction — it is a separate, unrelated operator that simply kept expanding while PointsBet exited.
Is PointsBet Legit Outside the US?
Yes, with one open dispute worth flagging. PointsBet Holdings Limited still trades publicly on the ASX and still runs real, licensed sportsbooks in Australia — its largest market by revenue — and in Canada, where it has held an Ontario AGCO license since the province’s regulated market opened in April 2022 and has since added Alberta. But in February 2026, the AGCO proposed a five-day licence suspension after finding PointsBet Canada showed a “systemic failure” to detect and report suspicious prop betting tied to the Jontay Porter NBA scandal. PointsBet is appealing and calls its original inaccurate 2024 disclosure human error rather than concealment; the suspension has not taken effect. Nothing comparable has been raised against DraftKings in any of its licensed US states.
Which One for Who
Anyone in the US typing “DraftKings vs PointsBet” almost certainly wants a live sportsbook to actually use — that answer is DraftKings, in whichever of its 27 states plus D.C. applies, or Fanatics Sportsbook as the direct inheritor of PointsBet’s old US footprint. PointsBet itself is only a live option for readers in Australia or Canada, and Canadian readers specifically should weigh the AGCO dispute before assuming a clean regulatory record. Betting is entertainment, not income, wherever either brand is actually licensed. 21+ only, and 1-800-GAMBLER if it stops feeling like entertainment.