Yesterday the Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman ordered two of the biggest fantasy sports companies to stop take bets from New York residents. Both FanDuel and DraftKings were ordered to stop taking bets immediately.
Fantasy sports betting has been a hot topic lately. You’ve probably noticed more than ever commercials and ads for either FanDuel or DraftKings. For me, I know I see it every time I open social media. In fact, it has gotten so big that DraftKings is now a partner with MLS, and you access it from the MLS app.
Sports betting was even a topic of the most recent Republican presidential debate as you can see here.
New York Times reported that between the two big fantasy sports companies there are 500,000 daily users. Yes, daily users. That is like every adult in Utah betting daily.
So what’s the problem? The problem is that gambling is illegal and there is a fine line between what fantasy sports betting does and what gambling is.
Fantasy sports companies contend that their games are not gambling because they involve more skill than luck and were legally sanctioned by a 2006 federal law that exempted fantasy sports from a prohibition against processing online financial wagering.
For those of you in fantasy football would you agree? Is it luck or skill?
Today (Nov. 11) both DraftKings and FanDuel told their users that they will continue to take bets for this week with no disruption in service. The two companies will work with the NY attorney general to prove they are not gambling sites.
Utah has some of the highest restrictions on gambling but for now both of these sites are still open to Utah residents, according to this report. But how long will that last?
If New York shuts down these sites to its residents will Utah follow?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
