Two of the biggest sports betting companies – DraftKings and FanDuel – in the world recently returned their gambling licenses in the US state of Nevada. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), the authority body responsible for the monitoring of the sector, officially accepted the surrender of all licenses and applications that the two companies submitted.
Unprecedented Moves
The NGCB released a statement in November announcing that Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, relinquished their Order of Registration along with all related licenses and approvals.
Included in the list of returned licenses are FanDuel’s sportsbook authorizations, but also the license to operate as a provider of information services in the state.
Apparently, the Board also granted “administrative approval of requests to withdraw all active and pending applications.”
Right after FanDuel, DraftKings followed with the same procedure. The sports betting company withdrew everything from the market – every single of its pending applications that had something to do with sports wagering in the state of Nevada.
Unlawful Activity?
The tone that NGCB used was notably sharp. Through the press release, they’ve stated that the two companies “intend to engage in unlawful activities related to sports event contracts”. The statement concluded with saying that such conduct is “incompatible with their ability to participate in Nevada’s gaming industry.”
The action happened shortly after both operators publicly announced their upcoming launches in the fast-growing, highly debated prediction market sector. Namely, Jason Robbins, Founder & CEO of DraftKings, announced their plans to launch DraftKings Predictions, while Peter Jackson, CEO of FanDuel, announced FanDuel Predict.
Both companies clearly had plans to expand their business outside of the limits of traditional sports betting.
However, the state’s position on prediction markets for now remains unambiguous. Nevada is among nearly two dozen states and tribal authorities currently pursuing federal litigation aimed at blocking prediction-market companies from offering sports-related wagering contracts within their borders. According to multiple industry analysts, those legal battles are unlikely to be resolved before late 2026.
Prediction Market’s Unpredictability
Last month at the G2E convention in Las Vegas, the CEO of the American Gaming Association, Bill Miller, reinforced the concerns held by the regulatory community.
He supports the idea that overseeing, or monitoring the industry, plays a crucial role in preserving the integrity of gaming in the USA.
Miller described the regulated gaming ecosystem as “a system founded on a regulatory approach that upholds the public interest and looks out for consumers while giving companies the license to operate, innovate and grow.” He contrasted that with what he called the “free riders” of the prediction-market space, who “thumb their nose at this approach to gaming.”
With DraftKings and FanDuel now stepping away from Nevada entirely, the move highlights that there’s a gap widening between state regulators and emerging prediction-market platforms. And from what we’ve seen, this gap likely have a strong effect on the next chapter of sports betting in the US market – and not just that, but perhaps even the entire iGaming market.
