MyBookie vs PointsBet: Cease-and-Desist vs Clean Exit

MyBookie vs PointsBet: Two Ways to Handle US Pressure

MyBookie vs PointsBet is really a comparison of two different answers to the same problem: what does a sportsbook do when US regulators start pushing back? MyBookie stayed put, keeps taking American bettors on a Curaçao eGaming license, and is now working through cease-and-desist letters from Michigan and Florida. PointsBet chose the opposite path years earlier — it sold its entire US sportsbook to Fanatics Betting and Gaming for $225 million in 2024 and now operates only in Australia and Canada, outside US jurisdiction entirely.

MyBookie vs PointsBet puts two sportsbooks side by side that took opposite routes when US regulatory pressure showed up. MyBookie has run US-facing action since 2014 on a Curaçao eGaming license and is currently working through cease-and-desist letters from Michigan and Florida — it stayed in the game. PointsBet was a fully state-licensed US sportsbook that decided to leave altogether, selling the entire business to Fanatics Betting and Gaming for $225 million in a deal that closed in April 2024. Neither path is right or wrong on its face; they just leave very different brands standing today.

MyBookie vs PointsBet, side by side

	MyBookie	PointsBet
Founded	2014	2015, Melbourne, Australia
Core license	Curaçao eGaming (Duranbah Limited N.V.) — no US state license	AGCO-registered (Ontario), AGLC/AiGC (Alberta), Australian state/territory licenses
US footprint	Takes bettors from most states; no published block list; hit with MI and FL cease-and-desists in 2025	None — sold entire US business to Fanatics, closed April 2024
Canada / Australia	Not part of its licensing or marketing story	Live in Ontario since April 2022, expanded into Alberta; Australia is its largest market
Product	Sportsbook, casino, and racebook under one login	Sportsbook and iGaming only, in AU and CA
Banking	Mostly crypto — Bitcoin withdrawals in 12-24 hours; bank wire up to 7 business days	Interac e-Transfer, debit, PayPal (Canada); bank transfer/PayID (Australia)
Current regulatory friction	Michigan (Jan 2025) and Florida (Feb 2025) cease-and-desist letters, unresolved	AGCO proposed a 5-day Ontario licence suspension (Feb 2026), under appeal

Is MyBookie or PointsBet Legal Where You Actually Are?

For a US reader, MyBookie is the only one of these two brands actually reachable. No state licenses it, but it hasn't published a list of states it refuses either, and it kept operating through 2025's first cease-and-desist letters. PointsBet isn't an option for that same reader under any circumstance — it sold its US sportsbook, iGaming, and retail business to Fanatics in a deal that finished closing in April 2024, and every US account converted automatically. Flip the reader to Ontario, Alberta, or Australia, and the picture inverts: PointsBet is a licensed, regulated sportsbook there, while MyBookie's entire regulatory and banking setup is built around US bettors, not those markets.

The core difference: MyBookie chose to keep taking US bets without a US license and is now dealing with the consequences state by state. PointsBet had a US license, sold it, and left before regulators forced the question.

Is MyBookie Legit Despite the Cease-and-Desist Letters?

A decade-plus of continuous operation and a documented crypto payout history are real signals, and MyBookie has both. But 2025 changed the texture of that record: the Michigan Gaming Control Board ordered a stop to Michigan signups on January 23, 2025, and the Florida Gaming Control Commission followed on February 5, naming MyBookie alongside Bovada and BetUS. Neither letter has produced criminal charges against bettors, and MyBookie has not walked away from the US market — it's simply operating with more regulatory attention on it than it had a year ago.

Is PointsBet Legit After Cashing Out of the US?

Selling for $225 million is not what a collapsing operator does. PointsBet kept running publicly on the ASX, held onto Australia as its largest market, and grew its Canadian business afterward. Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc. buying a controlling 66.43% stake in September 2025 was a change of ownership, not a sign of trouble. The real mark against it right now is Ontario's: the AGCO proposed a five-day licence suspension in February 2026 over how PointsBet Canada disclosed a Jontay Porter-linked prop-betting issue, a matter PointsBet is appealing.

Which One for Who

US bettors: MyBookie is the only reachable option of the two, and it comes with real trade-offs — a genuine but light-touch offshore license, fast crypto payouts, and unresolved state cease-and-desist letters to weigh.
Canadian or Australian bettors: PointsBet is the reachable, regulated option, currently working through an Ontario disciplinary matter of its own rather than a US enforcement letter.

Neither brand is a way to make money, and neither history here is a clean one — MyBookie is fighting state letters while still taking bets, PointsBet avoided that fight by selling the business outright. Whichever brand is actually available in a given reader's location, this stays entertainment spending, never income. 21+ where legal. If it stops being entertainment, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

MyBookie vs PointsBet — Frequently Asked Questions

Is MyBookie or PointsBet legal to use?

MyBookie has no US state license anywhere — it runs on a Curaçao eGaming license — but it still accepts bettors from most of the country and does not publish a fixed block list. PointsBet holds real, named licenses, just none in the US: AGCO registration in Ontario, an Alberta license, and state and territory regulation across Australia. It stopped taking US signups entirely once it sold that business to Fanatics in April 2024. A US reader has a MyBookie option and no PointsBet option; a Canadian or Australian reader has the reverse.

Is MyBookie or PointsBet more legit?

It depends what "legit" is measured against. MyBookie's case rests on longevity: operating continuously since 2014 with a payout history sports bettors have tracked on forums for over a decade, though 2025 brought its first formal state cease-and-desist letters, from Michigan and Florida. PointsBet's case rests on structure: it's a publicly traded company (ASX: PBH), majority-owned since September 2025 by Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc., and it exited the US by selling for $225 million rather than by collapsing. Both have real track records; only PointsBet has a regulator that can currently discipline it, which it's actually experiencing in Ontario.

Is MyBookie safe compared to PointsBet?

Safety comes down to what backs each brand up if something goes wrong. MyBookie's Curaçao eGaming license is genuine regulatory oversight, but it is far lighter than a government gaming commission, and there is no US agency that could force a payout in a dispute. PointsBet, wherever it actually operates, sits under real regulators — AGCO in Ontario, AGLC/AiGC in Alberta, state bodies in Australia — though Ontario's regulator proposed a five-day suspension in February 2026 over how PointsBet Canada disclosed a prop-betting issue tied to the Jontay Porter scandal. Regulated isn't the same as spotless, but it does mean recourse exists.

Why did PointsBet leave the US while MyBookie stayed?

Different starting points. PointsBet was a fully state-licensed US sportsbook — it had something valuable to sell, and Fanatics Betting and Gaming paid $225 million for the whole operation, deal closing state by state through April 2024. MyBookie was never state-licensed here in the first place; it operates from Curaçao without US approval, so there's no licensed business to cash out of. Staying offshore and unlicensed, or holding a real license and selling it, are different bets with different downside — MyBookie's is a live regulatory fight, PointsBet's was a one-time transaction.

Can a US bettor use PointsBet if MyBookie gets shut down in their state?

No. PointsBet isn't a fallback for American bettors under any circumstance — it sold its entire US sportsbook, iGaming, and retail business to Fanatics, and every converted account now runs on Fanatics Sportsbook, not PointsBet. A reader whose state acts against MyBookie the way Michigan and Florida already have would need to look at a US-licensed operator like Fanatics, DraftKings, or FanDuel, not PointsBet.

Does MyBookie operate in Canada or Australia like PointsBet does?

MyBookie's licensing and enforcement history is built entirely around US bettors — Curaçao eGaming registration, US-dollar banking, and cease-and-desist letters from US state regulators. It doesn't hold the kind of country-specific licenses PointsBet carries in Ontario, Alberta, or Australia, so it isn't a substitute for PointsBet in either market.