Deciding which firms are the largest sports betting companies depends on what metric you use and which market you examine. This article sets a clear definition, summarizes why 2024 is a reference year for U.S. market size, profiles commonly cited leaders using company filings and regulator data, and offers a practical checklist for readers who want to verify claims.

This guide uses filings and regulator data to explain how operator size is measured and why rankings differ by metric.

FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars recur in filings and industry reports as leading U.S. operators.

Skill‑based platforms like FundedPlays are a distinct category focused on evaluation challenges rather than traditional wagering.

What the term "largest sports betting companies" actually means

When readers ask about the largest sports betting companies they usually mean operators with the greatest commercial scale in licensed markets. Scale can be measured in different ways, so a useful working definition highlights several objective metrics: audited revenue, digital market share in a given jurisdiction, customer counts or active users, handle or turnover, and geographic footprint across regulated states or countries.

For clarity, this article focuses on regulated online operators in licensed markets, not informal or unregulated activity. That distinction matters because regulated reporting and regulator statistics provide the independently audited or publicly filed data that make head-to-head comparisons meaningful. For example, trade association and regulator reports are standard reference points when companies report market position to investors and the public, and they anchor many rankings to verified figures.

Common size metrics each capture different aspects of scale. Revenue and net revenue from operations show money retained after payout and costs. Digital handle and total customer bets indicate transaction volume but do not equal revenue. Market share is often reported as percentage of digital gross gaming yield or revenue in a specific jurisdiction, which is useful for comparing operators within the same regulatory regime.

Keep in mind that rankings vary by metric and period, and the most reliable comparisons come from audited filings or regulator publications rather than promotional claims. This article uses regulator and filing-based references where available to keep comparisons transparent and verifiable, and to avoid useful but potentially misleading snapshots based on short-term promotional activity.

U.S. market snapshot: 2024 peak and what it means for 2025

The U.S. commercial sports betting market reached a new annual high in 2024 as more jurisdictions operated for the full year, a trend that reshaped total market size and company rankings for that period, according to the American Gaming Association report that summarizes the industry context for 2024.

That 2024 peak matters because a year with broader jurisdictional participation changes the denominator for market share calculations, and operators that entered new states earlier in the year benefitted from a longer reporting window. Promotional spend, market entry timing, and user acquisition campaigns can temporarily change share among competitors even when long-term scale is driven by active user retention and product depth.

Check filings and regulator pages for verified operator scale

Compare company investor filings and state regulator reports to verify which operators held scale after the full 2024 market rollout.

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For readers tracking leadership, the upshot is simple: annualized figures that include the full set of operating jurisdictions are a better guide than partial-year snapshots, and filings plus regulator statistics together give a clearer picture than any single press release.

How regulated markets compare: the U.S. versus Great Britain

Different regulated markets publish different primary metrics, so cross-market comparisons require care. In the U.S., analysts commonly use company revenue and state regulator data to measure operator scale, while Great Britain’s regulator reports gross gambling yield as an industry benchmark for the overall market.

Which metric should I prioritize when judging the largest sports betting companies?

Prioritize the metric that matches your goal: use audited revenue or net revenue to assess commercial scale, market share or GGY for jurisdiction comparisons, and active user metrics for product reach.

Using a UK benchmark alongside U.S. filings offers context for how mature markets look when fully regulated, but it does not produce a direct apples-to-apples conversion because GGY and reported revenue capture related but distinct economic concepts.

For global perspective, Great Britain’s regulator publishes industry totals that help illustrate relative market maturity and product mix, which can be useful when readers want to understand operator scale in markets with long histories of licensed online activity.

Overview: which firms are generally cited as the largest sports betting companies in the U.S.

Industry filings, investor reports, regulator publications, and trade association data commonly identify a consistent set of U.S. leaders: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook. These firms appear repeatedly in filings and market reviews as major national operators, though the basis for that placement differs by metric and report.

When industry sources list a leader set they typically rely on company filings, audited financial statements, or regulator statistics rather than promotional materials. That approach allows observers to compare like for like across operators and to note trends such as where national scale is driven by digital market share, active user counts, or geographic reach.

Rankings can and do shift with time, especially when promotional intensity or state entry timing changes. For readers comparing operators, the most defensible practice is to consult the primary filings and regulator pages for the specific metric they care about, because composite rankings often mask underlying metric differences.

Profile: FanDuel (Flutter) - public reporting and position

Flutter’s 2024 Annual Report states that FanDuel maintained the No. 1 position in U.S. online sports betting during 2024, and that company reporting is the primary source for claims about FanDuel’s scale in that period.

The company filing highlights metrics such as digital market share and revenue contribution from FanDuel’s U.S. operations, which support the conclusion that FanDuel held leading scale during the reporting year. Readers should note that company reports use internal definitions for metrics and that regulator figures provide a useful counterpoint when available.

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While company annual reports are authoritative for corporate statements, combining those filings with regulator statistics or trade association summaries helps ensure comparisons are grounded in consistent measurement approaches.

Profile: DraftKings - investor results and digital growth

DraftKings’ Q4 and full year 2024 investor report documents substantial year-over-year revenue growth and expanding digital operations, which investors use to track its trajectory among national operators.

Closeup of a desk with a financial report and regulator webpage suggesting analysis of filings for largest sports betting companies in a minimalist Funded Plays color palette

The investor materials list revenue, active user metrics, and digital handle as core performance indicators, and their trend lines are useful for understanding how rapid growth can alter relative position even when an operator is not the largest by absolute scale in every metric.

When assessing DraftKings against peers, focus on which specific metric is being compared, because growth rate and absolute size tell different stories about market standing and strategic momentum over time.

Profile: BetMGM - joint-venture model and footprint

BetMGM’s FY2024 update reports a record year for net revenue from operations and notes a broad multi-state footprint, evidence that the brand remains a major national player when measured on operating revenue and availability.

Because BetMGM operates through a joint-venture model in certain markets, consolidated reporting and partner accounting can affect how scale is presented in public documents, and that structure complicates direct revenue comparisons with single-entity operators who report all activity on their own balance sheet.

quick checklist for verifying filings and regulator statistics

Filing type
Jurisdiction
Metric reported

Check SEC or regulator publication dates

Readers comparing BetMGM to other firms should adjust for JV accounting and consult the specific filing that reports net revenue from operations to understand what is included in the company’s headline figures.

Profile: Caesars Sportsbook - digital growth within a broader group

Caesars Entertainment’s 2024 Form 10-K describes Caesars Digital performance and includes information on Caesars Sportsbook, which illustrates how a legacy hospitality group reports digital sportsbook scale within a larger corporate reporting package.

A diversified parent can report digital growth alongside other business lines, so extracting sportsbook scale for comparison requires reading the filing sections that break out Caesars Digital and isolating the metrics relevant to online sports betting rather than consolidated company totals.

As with other profiles, company filings are the starting point, and pairing those filings with state regulator statistics helps ensure readers are comparing consistent metrics when they rank operators by scale.

Other notable operators and regional leaders to watch

Outside the national leader set, several regional operators and international entrants can be meaningful leaders in specific states or product niches. These operators may not top national revenue lists but can dominate market share in a given jurisdiction or excel in particular product categories.

Factors that create regional leadership include early licensing in a state, exclusive partnerships with local gaming properties, targeted product mixes, or marketing strategies tailored to local audiences. For state-level leaderboards, consult the relevant regulator pages or state reporting for accurate, current data.

How to evaluate the largest sports betting companies: a practical checklist

To compare operator size and suitability, use a short objective checklist: audited revenue or net revenue from operations, market share in each jurisdiction of interest, active user counts or registered customers, digital handle and turnover where available, product availability across sports and markets, and regulatory disclosures such as compliance actions or licensing status.

The American Gaming Association and national regulators are especially useful for annualized market context. Where to find reliable data: company filings and SEC reports for public firms, state regulator statistics and published license reports, and trade association studies that aggregate industry totals.

Minimal vector checklist and magnifying glass inspecting operator metrics, conceptual due diligence visual for largest sports betting companies

Consider promotional spend and welcome offers as separate signals. High promotional intensity can temporarily boost handle or new registrations but does not necessarily indicate sustainable market share or long-term profitability.

Finally, document sources and dates when you compare operators, and prefer multi-period trends over single-quarter snapshots so you reduce the risk of reacting to temporary promotional or seasonal variation.

Common mistakes people make when comparing sportsbooks

A frequent error is misreading promotional claims and marketing language, which can exaggerate short-term activity without reflecting audited scale. Promotions drive registrations, not always retained market share, and they can make smaller entrants appear larger in the short term.

Another common confusion is equating handle with revenue. Handle measures the total amount wagered, while revenue or net revenue reflects the operator’s retained income after payouts and deductions. Gross gambling yield and net revenue are different accounting concepts and should not be used interchangeably when ranking scale.

Avoid relying on a single snapshot or press release. Use multiple filing periods and regulator reports to confirm whether a reported gain in market share or revenue is persistent.

Practical examples and scenarios: matching priorities to operator strengths

If you value product depth and pregame markets across many sports, prioritize operators that emphasize product breadth and in-play markets, since large digital platforms often invest more in technology and market coverage.

If you prefer lower promotional noise and a focus on margin and sustainability, consider operators whose filings show stable net revenue and lower customer acquisition intensity, because that profile can indicate a longer-term emphasis on retention over aggressive offer spending.

If local licensing or state availability matters, choose an operator with an established footprint in the jurisdictions you care about rather than simply the largest national brand; regional leaders can offer advantages in local promotions and partner integrations.

Where skill-based platforms fit and how FundedPlays differs

Skill-based prediction platforms operate differently from regulated sportsbooks: they center on user skill and structured evaluation rather than wagering with customer funds, and they typically use virtual funded accounts and challenge rules to assess consistent performance.

FundedPlays is a skill-focused sports prediction challenge platform that offers virtual funded account challenges and transparent evaluation rules for users who want to demonstrate forecasting consistency without participating in traditional sportsbook wagering. The platform emphasizes structured challenges, transparent rules, and performance tracking rather than promising earnings or acting as a financial or investment service.

Readers considering alternatives to sportsbooks should view funded challenges as a different product category that prioritizes discipline, strategy, and measurable performance in prediction tasks instead of real-money betting outcomes. Funded challenges can be a complement for users who want to test methods or measure forecasting skill under controlled conditions.

Conclusion and outlook: what to watch in 2026

Based on filings and regulator reports through 2024, the cautious consensus points to FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars as the firms most often cited among the largest sports betting companies in the U.S., while market dynamics remain sensitive to promotional spend, product convergence, and state regulatory shifts.

Open questions for 2026 include whether promotional intensity will normalize, how online sports betting and iGaming convergence may change operator scale, and how state-by-state regulatory adjustments could reallocate market share. Monitoring company filings and regulator publications will remain the most reliable way to track those changes.

For ongoing checks, prioritize source documents such as annual reports, SEC filings, and regulator statistics rather than one-off summaries. That approach gives the clearest, most verifiable view of which operators hold lasting scale as market conditions evolve.

How is 'largest' defined for sports betting companies?

Largest can mean different things: audited revenue, net revenue from operations, market share in a jurisdiction, active users, or geographic footprint; use audited filings and regulator data to compare.

Do promotional offers make an operator 'larger'?

Promotions can boost short‑term registrations and handle but do not necessarily reflect sustainable market share or long‑term revenue.

How can I verify operator claims about size?

Check company filings, SEC reports, state regulator statistics, and reputable trade association studies for audited or regulator‑published figures.

To stay current, prioritize primary sources: company investor reports, SEC filings, and state regulator pages. Rankings shift with market entry, promotional cycles, and regulatory change, so use verified filings and regulator statistics when you need to make comparisons or decisions.