The tumultuous year for the everyday fantasy sports industry ended in another unexpected development last week when New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a redacted lawsuit against FanDuel and DraftKings, which said they would repay all the estimated $200 million in state money and pay fines of up to $5,000 per case.
The news was a hit three weeks after a New York Supreme Court judge approved Schneiderman’s preliminary restraining order, calling DFS operators an “illegal gambling business that gives the public a fraudulent perception.” Afterwards, Fanduel and DraftKings received temporary exemptions from the state’s order to shut down their businesses and remained operational.
“It’s definitely amazing,” said Jeff Ifrah, founding partner of Ifrah Law in Washington, D.C., and an iGaming legal expert. “It definitely now feels like has an edge in terms of litigation.”
As for the timing of the new request, Ifrah said it may be because Schneiderman is worried about passing a new law “essentially ending his lawsuit.” 슬롯머신
“If they legalize the state’s everyday fantasy sports when the Legislature comes back and they start to budget, his lawsuit will end without real success. One way to achieve success is to seek damages for previous actions and previous profits caused by these companies before such legislation is passed.”
Ifrah added that it is difficult to predict whether the DFS will ultimately participate in the state’s budget discussions.
“There are backers outside who have been identified, so I think they will probably be introduced,” he said. “But it is unclear how much momentum and support we will receive when the time comes.”
DraftKings attorney David Boyce said in a statement that Schneiderman’s amended complaint “still doesn’t understand fantasy sports” to the attorney general and “is based on fundamental misconceptions about fantasy sports competitions.”
“Originally, the NYAG claimed that everyday fantasy sports were illegal gambling because they were games of chance. That has been disproved. Now, the NYAG complains that DFS contests are so much tech competition that some advertisements are misleading. This is because certain advertisements suggest that DFS contests are games of chance. This argument is also baseless.
On Monday, two Indiana lawmakers stepped into the fray – but unlike New York, Illinois and Nevada, they declared their support for the industry, saying, “We believe that the sports system is a game of technology, not a game of chance.”
“With the backlash they received from their home state, we suggest that Fanduel move their headquarters to Indiana,” said Senators Alan Morrison, Alterre Haute, John Ford, and Alterre Haute in a post to the Indiana House Republican Caucus titled “Fanduel, Make Indiana Your Home.” “Over the past decade, Indiana has shown time and time again that we are a business-friendly state with a strong workforce. Our unemployment rate is at its lowest in the last 14 years. In fact, according to Forbes, Indiana is in the top 10 business-friendly state in the U.S.
“In preparation for everyday fantasy sports sites in our state, we will introduce legislation in Indiana that requires basic consumer protection and transparency so that consumers who use fantasy sports sites can be protected. By adding some industry-recognized consumer protection, we hope to give all participants a guarantee of a fair game while participating in these sites.”
