Until sports betting was legalised in the US, FanDuel and DraftKings specialised in fantasy football, where you pay to enter competitions against other players.

Until sports betting was legalised in the US, FanDuel and DraftKings specialised in fantasy football, where you pay to enter competitions against other players. The winning players split the prize money, the company takes any money left over. For legal reasons the prize pot was fixed so if not enough people entered a contest the company would have to eat the loss. That was arguably not sports betting, therefore legal, because it was a game of skill against other players. The big difference with sports betting is that you’re now playing directly against the house. Their profit depends on how well they calculate their betting odds. Arguably it’s still a game of skill, but it’s obviously pretty stacked in the company’s favour.