The games are legal in 45 states, the wire service said.
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The American Gaming Association, which is doing its own review of the legality of daily fantasy sports, said it appreciated the Nevada board’s determination.
But the rise in popularity of daily fantasy sports sites like FanDuel, founded in 2009, and DraftKings, launched in 2012, came well after the law was in place, and critics of the format used by the sites and others argue the weekly competitions too closely resemble traditional sports gambling. Both companies have denied that the employee’s success was aided by non-public information. At least three proposed class-action lawsuits also have been filed in federal court after a DraftKings employee won $350,000 in a FanDuel contest.
Spokesmen for DraftKings and FanDuel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
FanDuel and DraftKings have recently become extremely popular, with commercials airing during televised games. The investigation is in a “preliminary stage” according to the report.
Many of those players use automated processes that let them change hundreds, if not thousands, of lineups in seconds, a decided advantage when last-minute changes are made in the real lineups of professional football, basketball or baseball teams. Senator Robert Menendez and Representative Frank Pallone Jr., Democrats of New Jersey, held a news conference Tuesday outside MetLife Stadium, the home of the Giants and the Jets, to reiterate their calls on the Federal Trade Commission to implement safeguards and ensure a fair playing field.
“We regulate and tax horse racing”, Rosenberg said.
Despite the insider information allegations, fans have continued to flock to the sites to compete for prizes.
“I think that’s the biggest worry that any of us really have right now”.
Seth Young, chief operating officer of the much smaller site StarFantasy, said he took it a step further than most, commissioning the same lab that tests casino slot machines to determine if the site’s games were skill-based.
According to the Journal, inquiries by the Boston-based FBI agents are said to focus on whether daily fantasy sports contests violate a federal law enacted by Congress in 2006 to prohibit financial companies from transferring money to online gambling sites.
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Investigators will also look at whether fantasy sites improperly allowed people to play even if they lived in a state where fantasy sports are illegal. The five states where fantasy sports are illegal are Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Washington.
