Daily Fantasy is Illegal Gambling

In her statement, Madigan only discusses daily fantasy sports sites, but the implications of her reasoning certainly seem far-reaching. Both companies have publicly said that their games are legal and based on skill and that they were reviewing their legal options in light of decisions against them in other states.

FanDuel and DraftKings dominate the daily fantasy sports industry, a growing new business phenomenon in the digital age with high-profile partners and investors in pro sports and media, including the National Basketball Association, which owns a stake in FanDuel.

A Madigan spokeswoman said the attorney general’s office would have no comment on the companies’ lawsuits outside of Wednesday’s opinion. Winners and prizes are determined by the performance of those players in actual games played.

Chicago may be the best sports town in the country.

DraftKings and FanDuel have stridently maintained that daily fantasy is a game of skill, and therefore doesn’t amount to gambling. After New York ruled that both FanDuel and DraftKings are considered illegal gambling, another state has joined the fight as well. Most recently the NY state attorney general said daily fantasy sports betting is illegal in the state, a judge recently called for FanDuel and DraftKings to be shut down in NY. The company intends to promptly seek a judicial resolution of its right to offer daily fantasy sports contests to IL residents. Lawmakers in some states also could move to legalize or protect daily fantasy sports, including in NY and IL.

Attorney Randy Mastro, who represents DraftKings, said the company took legal action “so that the hundreds of thousands of IL fans who have played openly and honestly for almost a decade will know they can continue to enjoy the fantasy sports games they love”.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has proposed a long list of new consumer-protection regulations that would ban fantasy sports contests involving college athletes, restrict the companies’ advertising, and require beginner-level games for inexperienced players.

Danny Ecker of Chicagobusiness.com reports Madigan sent a letter to the New York-based FanDuel and DraftKings that they must post on their websites that Illinois-located players are not eligible to play. The inundation of fantasy sports advertisements everywhere this year helped to shine a spotlight on the sport, which got exponentially brighter when scandal hit in October. We also believe, as the Attorney General has said, that this is a policy question for state legislators to address.