If you watch sports on a regular basis, you’ve probably seen your fair share of daily fantasy sports gambling commercials – namely from large names like DraftKings and FanDuel. These sites offer an accelerated option in comparison with traditional fantasy sport competitions, and winners are awarded with a higher share of the pot.
That being said, the question of whether or not these daily fantasy sports companies qualify as illegal gambling has littered the media. Unfortunately, the answer is hardly straightforward.
Skill or Gambling?
One of the primary questions surrounding daily fantasy sports deals with the concept of skill. In order to qualify as gambling, participants need to win money based on some form of random selection rather than skill.
In a typical daily fantasy sports contest, participants select athletes for their fantasy teams and win based on those athletes’ performances in real life games. Game sites argue that these contests do involve a certain amount of skill in order to succeed.
If, however, skill isn’t involved in the winnings (as some lawmakers believe), then these sites may be considered illegal gambling in several states.
Conflict in New York
Earlier this year, New York was considered a “key battleground” in this debate. Fantasy sports sites were considered to be violating New York’s gambling laws by disguising the gambling as a game of skill.
Daily fantasy sports sites were not going down without a fight though. New York was one of their most popular states. The sites soon filed a lawsuit against the state of New York.
It was decided that these sites could remain operational until a decision of their legality was reached.
Where It Stands Now
The results of the lawsuits determined that daily fantasy sports sites could operate within the state of New York so long as a portion was paid to the New York Lottery’s education fund.
The current status of daily fantasy sports sites varies per state. Most states allow these sites to take customers; however, there are a few that only allow some operators within their state. Others do not allow any at all.
For more legal commentary, you can check out our blog.
If you’re in search of legal help, don’t hesitate to contact the skilled Tampa personal injury attorneys at Lorenzo & Lorenzo for a free consultation.
