DraftKings has confirmed it is to take legal action through the New York Supreme Court over a declaration by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that daily fantasy sports (DFS) constitutes illegal gambling.
As reported by iGaming Business, Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist notices to both DraftKings and rival operator FanDuel after concluding that DFS is a form of illegal gambling.
Schneiderman’s ruling comes after he launched an inquiry into the DFS market, which has come under scrutiny in the US over an incident last month when a DraftKings employee won a real-money prize through rival FanDuel.
The incident led to widespread fallout, with Nevada outlawing all DFS operators without a relevant betting licence, while the US Department of Justice and the FBI have launched an investigation into the sector.
New York now looks set to follow Nevada in banning DFS competitions, with Schneiderman ordering DraftKings and FanDuel to stop taking wagers from New York residents, although neither operator has yet been asked to completely cease operations in the state.
Schneiderman said in a letter that the operators are “clearly placing bets on events outside their control of influence, specifically on the real game performance of professional athletes,” describing DFS as “illegal” under New York law.
However, having released an initial response to outline its disappointment at the ruling and upholding its stance that DFS is a game of skill and legal, the operator has opted to take this a step further by launching legal action over the decision.
In a fresh statement released today (Friday), DraftKings said: “Today, we have taken decisive legal action to prevent a unilateral, misinformed and legally misguided attempt by the New York Attorney General to act as “judge, jury and executioner” for daily fantasy sports in New York.
“We are asking the New York Supreme Court to rule that the Attorney General’s cease-and-desist letter is unconstitutional, an abuse of discretion, and simply wrong.
“We are confident in our legal position and intend to continue to fight to preserve the right of the over 500,000 New York consumers to play the fantasy sports games they love.”
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
