They say Congress has classified daily fantasy sports as a game of skill – which is legal – and not gambling. The wording of the letters suggests that the line between illegal gambling and legal sports fantasy play might depend on the details of how each game is organized and whether it is predominantly a game of skill or chance. FanDuel could continue to run its business in ny, just not accept bets from its residents.
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Everyone stop what you’re doing because there’s a super important protest going on in NY right now.
The head of the daily fantasy sports website FanDuel told his NY customers Wednesday that they should keep on entering the company’s contests, despite a warning from the state’s attorney general that they amount to illegal gambling.
In October, the Navada Gaming Control Board and the state’s attorney general determined that daily fantasy sites should be defined as sports gambling and need a license to operate in that state. The constitution permits a lottery, racetrack gambling and, per a 2013 amendment approved by voters, up to seven new commercial casinos. FanDuel has advertising deals with the Brooklyn Nets, who have the company’s logos plastered on the floor by the bench and behind the players, as well as the NY Jets.
Lawsuits or not, Scheiderman is promising action.
“The Attorney General’s job is to enforce NY State law, and the law here is clear”, said Schneiderman in a statement. It’s a very different set of consequences than the push to regulate the companies faced in the State of Nevada earlier this month: it is all or nothing.
Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement, “It’s clear that DraftKings and FanDuel are the leaders of a massive, multibillion-dollar scheme meant to evade the law and fleece sports fans across the country”.
On November 10, the NY AG sent cease-and-desist letters to the CEOs of both DraftKings and Fanduel telling them an investigation by his department had determined that the hugely popular sites were illegal under NY law.
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In its legal filing Friday, DraftKings asked the court to declare Schneiderman’s order unconstitutional and block him from attempting to take further action against the company.
