Daily Fantasy Sports operators fight back
The DFS sector has been under fire lately, so it decided to change its strategy entirely.
US.- Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators know their survival is at stake. The new strategy to keep their heads above water is to determine if there are any existing laws in a state which may deem DFS illegal first, and then hire enough lobbyists to help them change those laws. According to attorney Jeremy Kudon, the sector hired around 75 lobbyists in more than 30 states in the last year and the long term goal is “to confirm that fantasy sports are legal. We don’t want to live in a world of ambiguity anymore.”
Since November Attorney Generals in New York, Nevada, Vermont and Texas declared daily fantasy sports illegal gambling targeting FanDuel and DraftKings. “These attorneys general, in our experience, don’t know anything about fantasy sports,” Kudon explained. “They didn’t play fantasy sports. They don’t understand how it operates, and that’s critical.
Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) stated: “This is a battle that’s going to be won in 50 states. It’s going to be 50 small battles, not one big battle.” He is hopeful they will attain around 10 legislative victories by this time next year, as states such as California, Florida, Illinois and Nebraska are showing signs of conciliation. “Is it a tumultuous time in the industry? Absolutely,” Charchian expressed. “I say bring it on because we’re going to get clarity at the end of the day.”
