“PointsBet vs Underdog” reads like a question about which sportsbook to open an account with. It isn’t one anymore — both names retreated from US sports betting, just by walking in opposite directions. PointsBet sold its entire American sportsbook to Fanatics Betting and Gaming in a deal that closed state by state, finishing in Illinois in April 2024, and now takes bets only in Australia and Canada. Underdog built its own US sportsbook, then shut it down nationwide in December 2025 and went back to pick’em DFS, adding a federally licensed prediction-market exchange on top. Neither one hands a US reader a moneyline today.
PointsBet vs Underdog, side by side
| PointsBet | Underdog | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015, Melbourne, Australia | 2020, Brooklyn, New York |
| Core product | Sportsbook & iGaming (Australia, Canada only) | Pick’em DFS — Classic Pick’em & Pick’em Champions |
| US sportsbook | None — sold to Fanatics, closed April 2024 | Ran one, closed it nationwide December 2025 |
| What replaced it | Nothing — exited the US entirely | Underdog Predict, CFTC-licensed exchange, July 2026 |
| Where it’s actually live | Australia, Ontario & Alberta (Canada) | ~15 US states (Classic Pick’em), more via Pick’em Champions |
| Ownership | ASX-listed (PBH); MIXI, Inc. controls 66.43% | Privately held, venture-backed |
| Recent regulatory event | AGCO proposed 5-day Ontario suspension, Feb. 2026 (appealing) | $17.5M NY settlement, March 2025; exited New York |
Why This Comparison Exists At All
Both brands show up in the same searches because both used to be straightforward sportsbook answers, and both stopped being that within about eighteen months of each other. PointsBet’s exit was geographic: it kept the sportsbook, just moved it entirely out of US reach by selling the American business for $225 million. Underdog’s retreat was about product, not geography: it stayed in the US and simply stopped being a sportsbook, closing the book and doubling down on pick’em DFS plus a new prediction-market arm instead.
Is PointsBet Legit? Yes — Just Not Here
A $225 million sale that closed state by state and finished in Illinois in April 2024 is an exit on PointsBet’s own terms, not a shutdown. Every US PointsBet account converted automatically into a Fanatics Sportsbook account. PointsBet Holdings Limited still trades publicly on the ASX, and Tokyo-based MIXI, Inc. bought a controlling 66.43% stake in September 2025. The company remains a real, functioning sportsbook — in Australia, its largest market, and in Ontario and Alberta, where it has been licensed since April 2022. It just isn’t licensed anywhere a US reader can reach it.
How safe is PointsBet right now? In its remaining markets, licensed — but Ontario’s AGCO proposed a five-day suspension in February 2026 over how PointsBet Canada handled the Jontay Porter prop-betting scandal. PointsBet is appealing and the suspension hasn’t taken effect. It has no bearing on Underdog, a separate company with a separate regulator.
Is Underdog a Sportsbook Substitute? No
Underdog’s pick’em contests — roster a set of player projections and take the over or under, not a line against the house — run under a state DFS exemption in roughly 15 states for Classic Pick’em, with the peer-to-peer Pick’em Champions game licensed separately state by state since March 2025. Neither is a moneyline bet. Underdog Predict, the CFTC-licensed exchange it launched in July 2026, is closer in spirit to what a sportsbook offers — yes/no contracts on outcomes — but it runs on federal derivatives-market rules, not state sports-betting licenses, and it has its own separate footprint.
Which One Actually Fits a Reader
A US reader chasing a moneyline bet gets nothing useful from either name — that product simply isn’t on the table at PointsBet or Underdog anymore. A reader in Ontario or Alberta with an old PointsBet login still has a working, regulated sportsbook, currently contesting a licence dispute worth knowing about. A reader who wants pick’em-style contests, or is curious about a federally licensed prediction market, is looking at Underdog — provided their state is on the right list, since Underdog is blocked outright in Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Washington. Whichever product actually applies, treat it as entertainment spending, never income. 21+ where PointsBet operates; 18+ or the state’s higher age gate for Underdog’s DFS products.