Holding ground in a competitive market requires consistent delivery to a specific player over a sustained period. FanDuel has held its ground by consistently delivering to the US sports bettor who came through daily fantasy sports — the same player, the same understanding, the same product refinements year after year. BetMGM has held its ground by consistently delivering to the player who trusts the MGM casino brand — the same heritage, the same implied quality, the same cross-platform loyalty connection to physical MGM properties.
Both platforms have held their ground genuinely. Neither is losing the players they were built for.
What is shifting in 2026 is the ground itself. The new player arriving at online gambling platforms is not the daily fantasy sports convert FanDuel was built for. They are not the MGM brand loyalist BetMGM was built for. They are the crypto-native player, the esports bettor, the transparency-demanding, withdrawal-speed-sensitive, large-library-needing player whose profile was not part of the ground either platform occupied when they built their positions.
ZunaBet launched in 2026 on the ground that is shifting toward. Not competing for FanDuel’s ground or BetMGM’s ground but occupying the ground the new player is arriving on. This article examines all three positions and explains what the shifting ground means for the player making the comparison now.
FanDuel: Holding Ground Built for the Fantasy Sports Bettor
FanDuel’s ground in the US market is the daily fantasy sports convert — a player whose relationship with sports data, statistics, and outcome tracking made the transition to real-money betting natural when regulation allowed. FanDuel built its position on this player’s familiarity with the brand and the product it delivered for them has been consistently strong.
The sportsbook holds the centre of that ground. NFL coverage structured around how the fantasy-origin bettor engages