Yahoo gets subpoena in fantasy sports probe, sources say

“The attorney general is entitled to change his mind”, Boies said.

New York Justice Manuel Mendez will preside over a hearing in which attorneys representing DraftKings and FanDuel on one side and the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on the other will offer dueling arguments over the legal status of DFS in New York. The tech company, which announced in July that it was joining the booming daily online fantasy sports world, is the latest subject of an investigation into the legality of such betting sites.

“Technically, if you go by the statute, what we’re doing is we’re allowing something that is illegal under IL law to continue to be done in the state and no one seems to be arrested”, Sullivan said. The lawyer made this point repeatedly.

MA Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, has said he believes fantasy sports is a game of skill, and legal under state law. It’s the classic risk involved in sports betting.

The top prosecutor argued that fantasy sports firms were running illegal gambling operations.

Although not surprising, it would likely ensure that the case could drag on for months or longer.

“If the judge were to grant the attorney general’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which I obviously hope he doesn’t do, I think we would have to very seriously consider an immediate appeal of that”, said David Boies, a DraftKings attorney, during a teleconference with reporters yesterday. “New York law even expressly permits New Yorkers to wager on contests of skill in which they personally participate. It happens in games of skill where the player can control or influence the outcome”. Nevertheless, the suit alleges, the banks, credit card companies and payment processors profited from the sites’ operation by collecting transaction fees from players who used credit cards.

FanDuel is running into legal challenges across the country regarding its business practices and the question of whether its activity is a form of illegal gambling.

MA attorney general Maura Healey is not interested in debating whether daily fantasy sports are gambling or “games of skill”.

This comes against of backdrop of tumult for the fantasy sports industry.

Fantasy sports contests could be viewed as wagering on the results of professional athletes, or it could be viewed as a competition between fantasy sports users over who can best predict the performance of a collection of players based on events that occur within the games.

Former Attorney General Rob McKenna also testified before the committee. “We look forward to being afforded a full and fair opportunity to demonstrate why daily fantasy sports are legal under NY State law”, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The memo also explains that players are not allowed to enter into endorsement opportunities with online fantasy sports websites, such as FanDuel and DraftKings.

“At DraftKings we play for glory, for bragging rights, for fantasy football supremacy, but we also play for this – the giant check”. Rounding out the top five are Florida with $20.6 million in fees ($2 million in revenue), IL with close to $19 million in fees ($1.9 million in revenue), and Texas with $17.2 million in fees ($1.7 million in revenue).