On Tuesday, NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said daily sports fantasy games are a form of illegal gambling. MA Attorney General Maura Healey, who is conducting her own investigation into the industry, supports a “strong legal and regulatory framework” for daily fantasy sports.
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It is unknown what will happen after that time expires.
Eccles said he’s open to regulation in NY and elsewhere. FanDuel? It’s on “a mission to make sports more exciting to everyone in the U.S”. It said the company would “vigorously pursue all legal options available to ensure our over half a million customers in NY state can continue to play the fantasy sports games they love”. Several states say they are reviewing the legality of daily fantasy sports or whether to regulate them, given their popularity and the vast sums at stake, and the industry says it would welcome what FanDuels chief executive called sensible regulation. Two states, Maryland and Kansas, have expressly permitted fantasy sports betting.
“Federal Law and 45 of the 50 US States allow skill based gaming”, DraftKings’ website says.
The controversy has raised a lot of questions about daily fantasy sports, especially on how “fair” they claim to be. The company launched a petition on Twitter Tuesday.
I don’t know the best way for DK and FD to defend their territory. “People feel the government shouldn’t decide what games they should play”.
“As a lawyer, I take cases on occasion on a contingency-fee basis”, meaning he doesn’t get paid unless he wins money for his client.
“We continue to see a number of other officials, including Senator Negron in Florida, Representative Zalewski in IL and the Federal Trade Commission, take a reasoned, informed and measured approach to the daily fantasy sports business”, the statement reads in part.
Zwillinger cautioned that the letter was a prelude to a civil action and does not threaten criminal prosecution. “So, I think there are tremendous benefits to us in terms of growing the game”.
The lawsuit said Steiner, who could not be reached to comment Wednesday, has never gambled on the sites. But since online wagering is banned in most of America, it seems odd that this passtime is legal at all.
Schneiderman, meanwhile, told public radio’s “The Capitol Pressroom” that daily fantasy sports sites must have an exemption to the state’s gambling laws in order to operate, similar to those offered to the horse-racing industry and certain private casinos.
“We are working quickly to understand the different state rulings and the applicability of federal law as well”, Oxman said. “Yes. [The ad campaign] definitely put us on everyone’s radar”.
Research released in July by Sports Business Daily showed that over a three-month period 91 percent of profits collected by players at DraftKings and FanDuel were won by just 1.3 percent of the players.
Draft Kings sent emails to the contestants saying, “Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is considering preventing New Yorkers from playing daily fantasy sports”, and added this message to their website: “Hey, New York, protect your right to keep playing daily fantasy sports”. What if a player rolls his ankle? “If there is material evidence of luck it’s still illegal. The only thing that changed today is the Attorney General’s mind”.
DraftKings and FanDuel have five days to reply to Schneiderman’s letter. With FanDuel and DraftKings (and competitors including Yahoo), fans can choose a new fantasy team for each day on which their sport has games going.
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“He is somehow drawing a line in time”, Ordine said. “This is weird. And it will be challenged”.
