“He has unleashed an irresponsible, irrational and illegal campaign to destroy a legitimate industry”, the filing said. Now the state of NY has declared that the websites constitute illegal gambling and told them to shut down. “Adding insult to injury, he has done so in defiance of NY law, which plainly permits games of skill such as DFS”. Being a game of chance would make the sites’ operation illegal in NY, the AG has said. But the company will not allow in-state users to deposit more money in their accounts, the company said.
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“These actions were meant to immediately disrupt FanDuel’s NY business adversely, and they have done so”, FanDuel said in its lawsuit. The companies asked the court to issue an injunction against immediate enforcement action from the state.
FanDuel’s Nigel Eccles said its lawyers will try to persuade Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over the next five days that their business is lawful and that its 500,000 customers in the state should be able to keep playing. We have operated openly and lawfully in NY for several years.
Supporters of the industry, many of whom were reportedly DraftKings and FanDuel employees, protested outside Schneiderman’s office Friday morning in Manhattan.
And that’s what led to this protest, this very, very sad protest. “It’s surprising that he has acted unilaterally overnight to shut us down”. Both DraftKings and FanDuel were already dealing with gambling regulators in Nevada, but Schneiderman’s ruling has generated a lot of buzz and animosity.
With a high-powered legal showdown over daily fantasy sports shaping up in NY, the U.S. Department of Justice remains concerned about online gambling, including fantasy sports, but isn’t ready to weigh in on the current controversy involving industry leaders DraftKings and FanDuel.
Of course, the two companies – which are valued at $1 billion each and have numerous investors from the sports and media worlds – were not going to hold any punches. Normally, the data is not released until after certain games are played. Participants typically create teams that span an entire season in professional sports, including American football, baseball, basketball and hockey.
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California is a critical state for daily fantasy operators, given its large base of users.
