jili tutorial

From Unified Messaging to Fragmented Strategies: How the AGA’s Responsible Gaming Education Month Has Changed After Major Sportsbook Exits

By jili tutorial · September 16, 2026

From Unified Messaging to Fragmented Strategies: How the AGA’s Responsible Gaming Education Month Has Changed After Major Sportsbook Exits

A New Landscape for Industry-Wide Responsible Gaming Campaigns

When the American Gaming Association (AGA) launched Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM) in September 2026, the familiar lineup of participating operators looked noticeably different. Over the previous twelve months, four of the largest sportsbooks in the United States—DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and bet365—had exited the trade association, breaking what was once a relatively unified moment of industry-wide responsible gambling messaging.

RGEM has never represented the entirety of the gaming industry’s responsible-gaming efforts. Many operators run year-round programs that extend far beyond any single month. However, September traditionally provided a common calendar point where sportsbooks, casino operators, and industry groups could promote their responsible-gaming work under the same banner. That alignment is now far less visible.

This article examines what has changed, why it matters, and how the responsible-gaming landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented as operators pursue their own strategies—sometimes in direct competition with the AGA’s own messaging.

The Exodus: Why Four Major Sportsbooks Left the AGA

Prediction Markets Drive Three Departures

The most significant driver of the membership changes was the industry’s growing divide over prediction markets—platforms that allow users to place bets on the outcomes of events ranging from elections to sports scores. These products sit in a regulatory gray area, often operating outside traditional state gambling frameworks.

Three of the four departures were directly connected to this issue:

A Different Reason for bet365’s Exit

bet365’s departure in March 2026 was driven by different considerations. The operator cited its position as a “digital-first” business and pointed to the AGA’s focus on the retail casino industry. This highlights a longer-standing tension within the trade group: balancing the interests of land-based casino operators with those of online-only sportsbooks.

All Four Maintain Ties to Other Industry Organizations

Despite leaving the AGA, all four operators remain members of the Sports Betting Alliance and the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA). This suggests that while they disagreed with the AGA’s strategic direction, particularly regarding prediction markets, they still value collaborative industry efforts—just under different organizational banners.

How Departing Operators Are Shaping Their Own Responsible Gaming Calendars

The clearest evidence of the fragmentation is not what the departed operators failed to do during RGEM. It is what they did instead—and when they chose to do it.

DraftKings: A Shift Away from September

DraftKings provides the most direct year-over-year comparison. In September 2025, the operator explicitly tied its campaign to RGEM, offering customers sweepstakes prizes including NFL tickets and a trip to Super Bowl 60 in exchange for engaging with its responsible play tools.

In 2026, DraftKings introduced a similar promotion—but it was tied to the PGA TOUR, with no mention of RGEM or September. The company also launched Gamalyze American Football, an interactive tool developed with Mindway AI that uses football betting scenarios to help players assess their emotional and behavioral responses to wins and losses.

FanDuel: Replacing an Annual Event with a Year-Round Program

FanDuel had held Play Well Day every September from 2022 to 2025. In January 2026, however, the company replaced that annual event with Play with a Plan, positioning the initiative as year-round. FanDuel reported that usage of its responsible-gaming tools had increased 41% year over year. As of September 2026, the company had not announced another Play Well Day.

Fanatics and bet365: Quiet Septembers

Fanatics operates its Play With Plan platform year-round but has not produced an identifiable standalone campaign for September 2026. Similarly, bet365 has not issued a dedicated September campaign, continuing its responsible-gaming efforts through channels that do not align with the RGEM calendar.

Collaboration Through ROGA

The four departed operators continue to work together through the Responsible Online Gaming Association. In August 2026, ROGA published a voluntary Marketing and Advertising Code adopted by all eight of its members, which the organization says represents approximately 90% of legal U.S. sports betting handle. The code restricts:

This demonstrates that while the operators have left the AGA, they remain committed to industry-wide standards—just through a different organizational framework.

Casino-Aligned Operators Keep RGEM Visible

September remains an active responsible-gaming period for companies that retained their AGA membership.

MGM Resorts and BetMGM

MGM Resorts and BetMGM announced a $320,000 contribution to RGEM’s responsible gaming initiatives. The companies reported that they now have more than 3,000 certified GameSense advisors—trained staff who can assist customers with responsible gambling questions and tool usage.

Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming

Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming issued their own RGEM announcement centered on new initiatives under their PlayersEdge program, expanding educational resources and support services for players.

Caesars Entertainment

Caesars marked the month through its “Listen First. Support Always.” campaign, incorporating RGEM messaging into a new advertising campaign promoting its updated app. This integration of responsible-gaming messaging into broader marketing represents a strategy some operators have adopted to normalize the topic.

Penn Entertainment

Penn Entertainment used RGEM to highlight specific responsible gaming habits, including setting limits, taking breaks, and playing with intention—providing practical, actionable guidance rather than abstract messaging.

The Prediction Market Divide: A Fork in the Road for Consumer Protection

Prediction markets have not only reshaped AGA membership—they have also created a separate and increasingly heated debate about where responsible-gaming standards should apply.

The AGA’s Escalating Criticism

The AGA has become more vocal in its criticism of prediction markets, framing sports event contracts as a threat to the state-regulated gaming model. According to the association:

AGA Vice President of Research David Forman offered a sharp critique: “I don’t think that these platforms are ever going to take [responsible gaming] seriously from a consumer protection angle because if you don’t believe your product is gambling, you can’t have an honest discussion with consumers about how to gamble responsibly.”

Former AGA Members Enter Prediction Markets—With Their Own RG Tools

The boundaries are becoming less clear as former AGA sportsbook members enter prediction markets themselves:

These offerings suggest that at least some operators are attempting to apply responsible-gaming standards across both traditional sports betting and prediction market products—even as the AGA argues that the sector as a whole fails to do so.

Kalshi’s Controversial NCPG Partnership

In a separate development, prediction market operator Kalshi joined the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and committed $2 million over two years to support the NCPG’s new Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative.

The partnership proved deeply divisive:

This split within the problem-gambling community mirrors the broader industry fragmentation, with different stakeholders taking opposing positions on whether prediction markets should be treated as gambling products requiring standard responsible-gaming measures.

What This Fragmentation Means for Bettors and the Industry

For Bettors: Fewer Common Reference Points

The absence of a unified September campaign means that bettors receive responsible-gaming messages through different channels, in different formats, and at different times, depending on the operator they use. This can make it harder for consumers to compare practices across platforms or to encounter consistent messaging that reinforces healthy gambling habits.

For the Industry: Competing Standards and Potential Confusion

The existence of multiple trade associations—AGA, ROGA, Sports Betting Alliance—each with its own codes of conduct, standards, and calendar events, creates a more complex regulatory environment. Operators must decide which organizations to join and which standards to follow, potentially leading to inconsistencies in how responsible-gaming protections are applied across the market.

The Bigger Picture: Responsible Gaming Work Has Not Declined

It is important to note that the fragmentation of September messaging does not mean responsible-gaming work has declined overall. The departed operators continue to run year-round programs, often with sophisticated tools and measurable results. The key change is that September no longer serves as a unifying moment for the industry—it has become one of several calendar points, each associated with a different set of operators and organizations.

Conclusion: A New Era of Responsible Gaming Messaging

RGEM’s quieter presence among several major online operators reflects a broader shift in the U.S. gaming industry. Prediction markets, changes in AGA membership, and operators’ own evolving responsible-gaming strategies have all contributed to a more fragmented landscape.

September still brings significant responsible-gaming activity from many companies. What it no longer does—at least to the same extent—is bring the industry together under a single banner. For consumers, regulators, and industry observers, this means paying closer attention to individual operator practices rather than relying on collective campaigns to assess the state of responsible gaming in the United States.