4 ms·

I am curious what that means for fantasy sports companies like DraftKings that ran into issues with gambling laws in the past.

bhouston 8y ago
It will legalize DraftKings I believe on a state-by-state basis. This was a law I understand pushed by Nevada casino/bookmakers who wanted a monopoly on this to protect their profits.
- everdev 8y ago
  There was already a federal exemption because of the way daily fantasy was constructed (it was considered a game of skill not tied to the win/loss of a sports team, since you had to pick individuals from different teams). However, several states made it illegal.
  - Gargoyle 8y ago
    Yeah, with DFS (daily fantasy sports) you're even limited to x number of players from a given game, so that you're not effectively betting on the outcome of that game by selecting an entire team. I never really understood how they got around the limitation with stuff like NASCAR, where you really are essentially betting on the outcome of a single race. Maybe it's like PGA where the tournament is the culmination of a set of matches or something.
giarc 8y ago
It's big for them. When you signed up for, and logged into DraftKings (or FanDuel) you would have to list your state/it would detect your state. I was never in a state that barred sports gambling, but I suspect it would block access if you were.
hudibras 8y ago
It's super bad for them. The vast majority of people who play the daily fantasy sports would much rather just bet on the games themselves.
- ramphastidae 8y ago
  Huh? What’s stopping these companies from simply integrating new gambling features enabled by this decision into their existing product?
  - LargeWu 8y ago
    A patchwork regulatory framework. Take a look at what's going on with online poker. Any poker site that wants to operate in a state that allows it has to comply with that state's regulatory framework. One of the most notable things about this is that states generally only allow you to play players within your own state (I think some states may have compacts that allow inter-state play with other specific states). They may also require the company to be operating within the state itself. So, even if Draft Kings starts a normal bookmaking operation, they can't necessarily just offer those services to players in any state that allows it. A lot of it will depend on how states settle on their regulations.
    - mulletbum 8y ago
      I just got an email from DraftKings about how stoked they are to make betting through their app completely legal. So I think they are already planning to get it done.
  - function_seven 8y ago
    This decision doesn't legalize sports betting. It allows the individual States to do so if they wish. DraftKings is (was?) operating under a loophole in Federal law that allows fantasy sports, and had, until now, the advantage of actual betting being illegal while "fantasy sports" were not. Now that states can allow betting directly, they can do things like require a gaming license to operate, require a physical location, etc. Many may still prohibit online gambling. Federal law that prohibits online gambling can still also prevent straightforward betting over the Internet.
  - dkrich 8y ago
    Nothing, assuming states pass laws legalizing sports wagering in which Draft Kings and the like operate. The major problem I see is that while the current DK business model must be extremely profitable (just hosting contests that you don't have a stake in and taking a rake), running a sportsbook is an entirely different business. One that typically brings minimal profits and can sometimes bring enormous losses because now they are taking the action themselves. Sportsbooks are not typically profit centers for casinos but loss-leaders to bring in people to buy drinks and gamble on more profitable games. I'm sure they must have been worried about this happening but probably will try and get out in front of it to become an online bookmaker. My own hot take is that this cannot be viewed as anything but a negative for them. I have to believe it would be very difficult to compete with huge casinos that can build their own platforms and bundle betting with their rewards programs. I also agree with the OP's assumption that most people currently using daily fantasy sites would much prefer to simply bet on games.
tomasz207 8y ago
They are taking advantage of the ruling and pivoting to straight sports betting. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/fantasy_sports_company_draftki.html http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/fantasy_sport...

bhouston 8y ago

It will legalize DraftKings I believe on a state-by-state basis. This was a law I understand pushed by Nevada casino/bookmakers who wanted a monopoly on this to protect their profits.

everdev 8y ago
There was already a federal exemption because of the way daily fantasy was constructed (it was considered a game of skill not tied to the win/loss of a sports team, since you had to pick individuals from different teams). However, several states made it illegal.
- Gargoyle 8y ago
  Yeah, with DFS (daily fantasy sports) you're even limited to x number of players from a given game, so that you're not effectively betting on the outcome of that game by selecting an entire team. I never really understood how they got around the limitation with stuff like NASCAR, where you really are essentially betting on the outcome of a single race. Maybe it's like PGA where the tournament is the culmination of a set of matches or something.

giarc 8y ago

It's big for them. When you signed up for, and logged into DraftKings (or FanDuel) you would have to list your state/it would detect your state. I was never in a state that barred sports gambling, but I suspect it would block access if you were.

hudibras 8y ago

It's super bad for them. The vast majority of people who play the daily fantasy sports would much rather just bet on the games themselves.

ramphastidae 8y ago
Huh? What’s stopping these companies from simply integrating new gambling features enabled by this decision into their existing product?
- LargeWu 8y ago
  A patchwork regulatory framework. Take a look at what's going on with online poker. Any poker site that wants to operate in a state that allows it has to comply with that state's regulatory framework. One of the most notable things about this is that states generally only allow you to play players within your own state (I think some states may have compacts that allow inter-state play with other specific states). They may also require the company to be operating within the state itself. So, even if Draft Kings starts a normal bookmaking operation, they can't necessarily just offer those services to players in any state that allows it. A lot of it will depend on how states settle on their regulations.
  - mulletbum 8y ago
    I just got an email from DraftKings about how stoked they are to make betting through their app completely legal. So I think they are already planning to get it done.
- function_seven 8y ago
  This decision doesn't legalize sports betting. It allows the individual States to do so if they wish. DraftKings is (was?) operating under a loophole in Federal law that allows fantasy sports, and had, until now, the advantage of actual betting being illegal while "fantasy sports" were not. Now that states can allow betting directly, they can do things like require a gaming license to operate, require a physical location, etc. Many may still prohibit online gambling. Federal law that prohibits online gambling can still also prevent straightforward betting over the Internet.
- dkrich 8y ago
  Nothing, assuming states pass laws legalizing sports wagering in which Draft Kings and the like operate. The major problem I see is that while the current DK business model must be extremely profitable (just hosting contests that you don't have a stake in and taking a rake), running a sportsbook is an entirely different business. One that typically brings minimal profits and can sometimes bring enormous losses because now they are taking the action themselves. Sportsbooks are not typically profit centers for casinos but loss-leaders to bring in people to buy drinks and gamble on more profitable games. I'm sure they must have been worried about this happening but probably will try and get out in front of it to become an online bookmaker. My own hot take is that this cannot be viewed as anything but a negative for them. I have to believe it would be very difficult to compete with huge casinos that can build their own platforms and bundle betting with their rewards programs. I also agree with the OP's assumption that most people currently using daily fantasy sites would much prefer to simply bet on games.

tomasz207 8y ago

They are taking advantage of the ruling and pivoting to straight sports betting. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/fantasy_sports_company_draftki.html http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/fantasy_sport...