NY State Deems Daily Fantasy Sports Gambling Illegal

“Our investigation has found that, unlike traditional fantasy sports, daily fantasy sports companies are engaged in illegal gambling under NY law, causing the same kinds of social and economic harms as other forms of illegal gambling, and misleading NY consumers”, Schneiderman said in the news release.

They are investigating whether fantasy sports sites violate laws against online gambling.

Both fantasy companies argued that the attorney general doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally prevent New Yorkers from playing fantasy sports.

The Gamblers Anonymous contact for NY City, known only as “Chuck”, said his group had “noticed a pick-up in the last six months of people coming in and saying they’re here because of daily fantasy sports”. Most states have no laws that specifically address fantasy sports but do have gambling laws that might dictate whether theyre legal. “I think if people want to gamble at their own risk and own peril then I don’t think the government should control it”.

DraftKings said Wednesday it will challenge the ban in court, to keep its site up and running in NY state.

In the games, fans pay to compete for daily cash prizes based on imaginary teams assembled from rosters of real players, which accumulate points based on how those players perform in actual games.

Fidler played FanDuel’s baseball games all summer as he recovered from a kidney transplant, typically entering three games a day for $8.

In an interview with public radio’s “The Capitol Pressroom”, Schneiderman made clear he is not targeting FanDuel and DraftKings users, but rather the companies themselves.

DraftKings said the leak was an accident, and both companies said he didn’t benefit from having early access to data.

Schneiderman is accusing FanDuel and DraftKings of fueling gambling addiction. Schneiderman’s cease-and-desist orders so far apply only to the taking of wagers from NY residents.

But Schneiderman’s investigators determined that DraftKings and FanDuel were “in violation” of the state law that prohibits illegal gambling.

“I have never played, in part because I always considered it gambling and, knowing the depth of my Rotisserie baseball passion, I never wanted to go down that road”, he said via email. In his letters to FanDuel and DraftKings, Schneiderman left the door open for legal action against any companies that run and market games in a similar way. We have operated openly and lawfully in NY for several years.

FanDuel’s lawyer, Sharon Cohen Levin, previously headed the money laundering and asset forfeiture unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of NY.

In October the NCAA barred daily fantasy sites from advertising during March Madness, but FanDuel sponsors “The Final Drive”, a college sports highlights show on the Big Ten Network. The federal prosecutor in Tampa has reportedly convened a grand jury to review the legality of the games.

Bank of America and American Express said they are continuing to allow customers to use their debit or credit cards to play fantasy sports while the companies monitor the situation.

Capital Off-Track Betting is regulated by the state and generates money for the state. It could also force major sports leagues with direct ties to the leading DFS platforms to reconsider their positions.

DraftKings and FanDuel have been impossible to ignore this fall, even for those who don’t give a rip about sports.

The Boston Herald remarked that over 20 lawsuits have been filed against the companies, a few of them at state level.