Layoffs rumours surrounding Daily Fantasy Sports

Senior executive published the decision, but spokesperson for FanDuel denied it; various emails to FanDuel’s confirmation went unreturned.

US.- Legal and financial conflicts along at least seven states of the country -Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, Vermont and Washington- are causing great losses to online sports betting services. One of the leading companies, FanDuel, said to have announced yesterday the layoffs to staff from New York, the main headquarter.

While Daily Fantasy Sports are waiting for resolutions that clarify their legal status -New York and Nevada seem more optimistic about the final decision-, on Tuesday Texas state Attorney, Ken Paxton, declared them to be illegal gambling. That means a loss of 8 percent of all DFS entry fees. FanDuel did not publish any comment on how they are going to proceed, but the probable announcement of the cutbacks may be as clear as water.

“If Attorney General Paxton is truly concerned about the small businesses that operate in Texas and the millions of people in Texas who enjoy fantasy sports, he would stop grandstanding and start working with the FSTA and the Texas Legislature on common sense consumer protection issues like those being proposed in other states,” expressed the president of Fantasy Sports Trade Association, Peter Schoenke.

The latest decision was made at the end of the NFL season. The NFL accounted for U$75m of GPP profits compared to $91m for all other sports combined. In order to keep and multiply this kind of profit, Daily Fantasy Sports will have to wait until the end of legal debates.