3 ms·

In the US: Betting on sports online is illegal. In Washington State, playing online poker is a felony. The UIEGA, which forced the three largest online poker

In the US: Betting on sports online is illegal. In Washington State, playing online poker is a felony. The UIEGA, which forced the three largest online poker sites to shut down, defines a gambling act as "a bet or wager to include risking something of value on the outcome of a contest, sports event, or a game subject to chance." However, fantasy sports is excluded, including "daily" fantasy sports games, where players win or lose money based on the outcome of as few as three games. How much government time and taxpayer money is wasted restricting how people spend their money, for the sole purpose of pandering to Harrah's Entertainment and the like?

rprasad 14y ago
Fantasy sports pools are not bets on the outcome of a contest, sports event, or game subject to chance. The point of fantasy sports is what happens during the game, specifically, the performance of individual players. The actual outcome of the event is of no consequence. Furthermore, the players are not engaged in a contest on the stats which are used to determine the outcome of the fantasy pool (i.e., they are not formally competing to get the most 1st downs, or most catches, etc.). In some sports, the competitors are competing on the basis of stats (i.e., in boxing hits landed is one of the factors that determines the final score of the match), so fantasy pools for such sports would be illegal. These are silly distinctions, but it is what makes fantasy sports legal and normal sports betting illegal.
- mikeash 14y ago
  Surely the fantasy game itself is a game subject to chance, and so betting on it would be illegal?
  - rprasad 14y ago
    No, because the outcome of fantasy sports depends on the skill of the players (but is not dependent on the actual outcome of the "sport event" itself). It only becomes a matter of chance if you are betting on the result in specific statistics, because then it becomes a matter of chance as to whether they will reach/beat that specific number bet.
    - mikeash 14y ago
      It's still dependent on the outcome of individual events in the game, which are partially determined by luck, right?
      - rprasad 14y ago
        No, individual events in the game are largely determined by skill. In some situations, i.e., kickoffs, the location where the ball lands is subject to "luck" (because humans do not have the motor skills for the sort of precision for it to be completely "skill"), but the rest of the play is skill-driven. Betting on individual events would be subject to the gambling law as gambling on "sports events" because the individual events are themselves "sports events" and bettors at that point would be gambling on their outcome.
        mikeash 14y ago
        Sure, it's a combination of skill and luck. But there's definitely luck involved. Are you saying that, in the eyes of the law, there is no luck?

rprasad 14y ago

Fantasy sports pools are not bets on the outcome of a contest, sports event, or game subject to chance. The point of fantasy sports is what happens during the game, specifically, the performance of individual players. The actual outcome of the event is of no consequence. Furthermore, the players are not engaged in a contest on the stats which are used to determine the outcome of the fantasy pool (i.e., they are not formally competing to get the most 1st downs, or most catches, etc.). In some sports, the competitors are competing on the basis of stats (i.e., in boxing hits landed is one of the factors that determines the final score of the match), so fantasy pools for such sports would be illegal. These are silly distinctions, but it is what makes fantasy sports legal and normal sports betting illegal.

mikeash 14y ago
Surely the fantasy game itself is a game subject to chance, and so betting on it would be illegal?
- rprasad 14y ago
  No, because the outcome of fantasy sports depends on the skill of the players (but is not dependent on the actual outcome of the "sport event" itself). It only becomes a matter of chance if you are betting on the result in specific statistics, because then it becomes a matter of chance as to whether they will reach/beat that specific number bet.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    It's still dependent on the outcome of individual events in the game, which are partially determined by luck, right?
    - rprasad 14y ago
      No, individual events in the game are largely determined by skill. In some situations, i.e., kickoffs, the location where the ball lands is subject to "luck" (because humans do not have the motor skills for the sort of precision for it to be completely "skill"), but the rest of the play is skill-driven. Betting on individual events would be subject to the gambling law as gambling on "sports events" because the individual events are themselves "sports events" and bettors at that point would be gambling on their outcome.
      - mikeash 14y ago
        Sure, it's a combination of skill and luck. But there's definitely luck involved. Are you saying that, in the eyes of the law, there is no luck?