Daily fantasy sports business on the radar of regulators

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, speaking at Saturday’s Stanford-USC game, was quoted as saying that a joint letter from the commissioners of Football Bowl Subdivision conferences was sent to DraftKings and FanDuel asking them discontinue fantasy games that include the names of college players. The UIGEA, the statute that daily fantasy sports operators point to in regard to their legality, was supported by the major professional sports leagues and the NCAA almost a decade ago. At least according to Mississippi State AD Scott Stricklin…

The NCAA does not condone sports gambling of any type, citing mental, health and safety issues.

Editor’s Note: FanDuel is running a $1,500,000 fantasy football league in week 3.

1, Fantasy sports is sports betting.

Indiana seems poised to join the whirlwind of activity engulfing fantasy sports contests at the state level across the country.

Why would fantasy sports be exempted? Midland launched the business in the fall of 2011 and has since moved operations to Louisville, Ky. With DraftKing and FanDuel signing up thousands of subscribers every week, lawmakers are taking a closer look. It’s not just college football!

We have written extensively about how the fantasy sports industry has been able to take advantage of the favored status offered by the UIGEA’s (“UIGEA”) narrowly tailored fantasy sports exemption.

“Last year, I just dabbled”, he said. The DFS industry is expected to grow to $2.5 billion over the next four years.

A certain percentage of players in each contest finish in the money, adding to the lure.

As Edelman referenced, Louisiana politicians have tried and failed to change the state’s opinion so it coincides with the national law. His bill died on the House floor.

This private loosening of policy reflects some public policy advances for fantasy sports providers and the industry as well: In California, Assemblyman Adam Gray filed an amended version of AB 1437, the gaming addiction bill now called the Internet Fantasy Sports Game Protection Act. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should.

Gambling is a part of America’s fiber.

All of this comes on the heels of a great deal of talk about ESPN upping the gambling/betting lines coverage on their flagship college football program, College GameDay, including a quick-failed experiment with giving “cover alerts” on the moving ticker during games. American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said daily fantasy sports was an “exciting new platform”. “It’s clear that a federal ban on traditional sports betting outside of Nevada is failing”. He argued that gambling on sports is already happening in one form or another all across the U.S and it would be easier to monitor if out in the open.