AGA’s Responsible Gaming Month Splinters as Big Sportsbooks Go Their Own Way
DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and bet365 skip the AGA's September campaign after quitting the trade group amid a prediction-markets rift.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited by the ON360 newsroom.
The American Gaming Association’s annual Responsible Gaming Education Month looks noticeably thinner this September, after four of the biggest U.S. sportsbooks quit the trade group over the past year. DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and bet365 have all skipped comparable campaigns tied to the September push, according to Gambling Insider, leaving casino-aligned operators such as BetMGM, Caesars, Hard Rock International and Penn Entertainment to carry the banner largely on their own.
For an industry-wide messaging moment that once brought sportsbooks and land-based casinos together, the split marks a visible break. It also signals how far the fight over prediction markets has spread beyond regulatory filings and into consumer-facing responsible-gambling programming.
Why the sportsbooks walked away
DraftKings and FanDuel resigned from the AGA on Nov. 18, 2025, as both companies pushed into event contracts. FanDuel said its new direction was “not aligned with the American Gaming Association’s current priorities for its member operators,” while DraftKings said its plans “no longer fully align with the AGA’s direction in certain areas.”
Fanatics followed in early December, days after launching Fanatics Markets. Vice President of Communications Kevin Hennessy later said the company and the AGA had “a difference of opinion on what that means when it comes to prediction markets.”
Bet365’s exit in March was different. The operator cited its status as a “digital-first” business against the AGA’s retail-casino focus. All four remain members of the Sports Betting Alliance and the Responsible Online Gaming Association, or ROGA.
Separate calendars, separate messaging
DraftKings offered a September 2025 sweepstakes tied explicitly to RGEM, with prizes including NFL tickets and a trip to Super Bowl 60 for customers using its responsible-play tools. This year it launched a similar promotion around the PGA Tour instead, with no reference to RGEM or September. It also rolled out Gamalyze American Football with Mindway AI, an interactive tool that uses football betting scenarios to help players gauge their reactions to wins and losses.
FanDuel ran Play Well Day every September from 2022 through 2025. In January it replaced that single-day event with Play with a Plan, a year-round program. FanDuel said usage of its responsible-gaming tools rose 41 per cent year over year, though it has not announced a Play Well Day this month. Fanatics runs a similar year-round Play With Plan platform, and bet365 has no identifiable standalone September campaign.
All four continue coordinating through ROGA, which published a voluntary Marketing and Advertising Code in August. Adopted by all eight ROGA members, representing roughly 90 per cent of legal U.S. sports betting handle by the group’s estimate, the code restricts “risk-free” claims, campus advertising and targeting of customers flagged for responsible-gambling concerns.
AGA loyalists keep the month alive
Operators that stayed put are leaning harder into RGEM. MGM Resorts and BetMGM announced a $320,000 contribution to the campaign’s initiatives and said they now have more than 3,000 certified GameSense advisors.
Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming unveiled new PlayersEdge initiatives under the RGEM banner, and Caesars marked the month through its “Listen First. Support Always.” campaign, folded into its wider advertising push around an updated app. Penn Entertainment used the month to promote basics such as setting limits, taking breaks and playing with intention.
Prediction markets sit at the centre of the divide. The AGA has stepped up criticism of sports event contracts, framing them as a threat to the state-regulated model and citing rising advertising spend and gaps in consumer protection and responsible-gambling standards among prediction-market operators.
For Ontario, where the AGCO and iGaming Ontario require registered operators to offer tools such as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion regardless of trade-group membership, the fracture is a reminder that voluntary industry campaigns don’t replace regulatory baselines. Players wanting support can still turn to provincial resources such as ConnexOntario at any time of year, independent of which September promotion an operator chooses to run.
Related: AGCO’s $120K Betty Fine Spotlights Push for Digital ID in Ontario Gambling
Related: Colorado Fines Fanatics $20K for Texting a Self-Excluded Bettor Twice
Related: NFL Holds Prediction Markets at Arm’s Length Pending Age, Integrity Rules