DraftKings and FanDuel to bail on DFS hearing

The US Congress will hold its first hearing into daily fantasy sports today, but the two largest companies in the growing sector decided not to attend.

US.- The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Manufacturing and Trade will hold its first hearing into daily fantasy sports today (Wednesday.) After all the conundrum surrounding Daily Fantasy Sports in the country, the Congress is finally set to examine the industry.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Manufacturing and Trade will hold the hearing. However, since no representatives from DraftKings, FanDuel or any major sports leagues will be in attendance despite invitations, legal experts and industry observers do not expect much immediate concrete action to come out of the proceedings.

“My pessimism of there being any significant movement stems from the absence of key stakeholders,” explained Daniel Wallach, a shareholder at Florida’s Becker & Poliakoff. “For Congress to have a hearing on daily fantasy sports without any of the key stakeholders is going to be a challenge. If you’re going to have a hearing on sports gambling, you need the NFL, NBA, baseball, hockey, the NCAA. If you’re going to hold a hearing on daily fantasy sports, you need DraftKings and FanDuel.”

Despite opinions differ among daily fantasy observers about whether the Congress should regulate the industry or not, even those who prefer federal oversight concede that the most immediate action is likely to occur on the state level. This will be the scenario at least until the US Congress gains a better understanding of “the size of the industry and how the business model works,” said Daniel Etna, the co-chair of the Sports Law Group at New York’s Herrick Feinstein LP. “I think it’s crying out for federal regulation,” he added. “But I’m not willing to bet heavily that they’re going to take up this issue and pass federal regulation.”