Recently Nevada became the first state to strike down and regulate daily fantasy sports tournaments, putting the future of websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel at risk. DraftKings and FanDuel allow users to bet money on who can create a better sports roster. Users select players and add them to their roster and once they are satisfied with their selections, they can submit these rosters to various tournament formats at various entry “fees”. These fees act as the potential payout one might receive if they win a tournament. DraftKings and Fanduel have millions of players and generate millions of dollars in business, but now lawmakers are stepping in to regulate.
Lawmakers in Nevada were the first to deem daily fantasy sports as a form of gambling and thus requiring regulation. DraftKings and FanDuel argue daily fantasy is far from gambling. The fantasy giants say tournaments can only be won with extensive studying and knowledge of sports and are not a matter of luck. Obviously Nevada disagrees. Lawmakers have stated its far too easy for anyone to select players at random and win these tournaments, even beating those who spend hours studying players and teams. FanDuel and DraftKings say this can happen, but is rare. This according to lawmakers is enough evidence to deem daily fantasy tournaments gambling.
The future of daily fantasy tournaments along with DraftKings and Fanduel is certainly up in the air. Nevada has made the first strike and fans of DraftKings and FanDuel wait to see if their state will move next. As of now many states have quickly stated daily fantasy is a non-issue in their agenda, but Nevada’s decision may set precedent in the future.