FanDuel and DraftKings leave Alabama today

Daily Fantasy Sports websites are shutting down operations after Attorney General sent cease and desist letters on April 5.

US.- Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced that Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators FanDuel and DraftKings have agreed to shut down operations in the state starting from May 2. Both DFS’ operators agreed to block access to their websites from Alabama IP and to process Alabama-based IP user requests to withdraw customer accounts within seven days of receiving them.

Back in October, an investigation into the DFS industry was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice. Then in November, two men from Jefferson County filed a federal lawsuit against FanDuel and DraftKings. The plaintiffs alleged that the operations qualified as illegal gambling and that their DFS games were misrepresented as games of skill, not of chance. Both players were seeking to recover lost money and to obtain class-action suit status for all Alabama residents who had lost money on fantasy sports websites.

“As Attorney General, it is my duty to uphold Alabama law, including the laws against illegal gambling,” said Strange during a press conference. “The daily fantasy sports operations violate state law because a player stakes something of value on a contest of chance in order to win a prize. While there is a measure of skill involved in creating a fantasy sports roster, in the end contestants have no control over the performance of the players on their rosters. This activity is illegal under Alabama law.”