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Three Daily Fantasy Sports sites have been sent cease and desist orders letters from the Florida Gaming Control Commission regarding their fantasy sports offerings. Those named are PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy and betr, a site co-owned by YouTube influencer and boxer Jake Paul. These and other DFS sites have undergone scrutiny of late for offering pick'em type games that too closely resemble player props and parlays. PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy in particular have begun overtaking early DFS behemoths DraftKings and FanDuel over the past year.
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DraftKings and FanDuel have made no secret of the fact that they've been complaining to regulators. Wyoming recently ordered PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy to stop doing business in that state.
PrizePicks is averaging 11.3K average downloads per day and is now the third most downloaded app in the sports betting/Daily Fantasy Sports space.
Daniel Wallach, one of the preeminent attorneys in the gaming space says to expect fireworks.
"This could develop into a court case if the companies wish to challenge the cease-and-desist letters. That’s what happened in New York nearly 8 years ago."
Ironically it was DraftKings and FanDuel that were the subjects of the New York legal matter.
"The New York DFS cases were filed just 3 days after cease-and-desist letters were issued, and immediately went into emergency TRO motion practice with a decision rendered by the court less than 1 month after the lawsuits were filed. Could we see a similar timeline in FL?"
Legal counsel for Underdog Fantasy has already made it clear they do not intend to take bullying by competitors laying down.
Underdog Fantasy General Counsel Nicholas G. Green discussed this matter with SBC last week.
“The suggestion that the incumbents (e.g., DraftKings and FanDuel) would offer Pick’em fantasy if it were legal is an excuse for being caught flat-footed by innovators like Underdog, who continued to focus on fantasy sports when the incumbents shifted overnight to being sportsbooks.
“These are not risk-averse companies. Without a competitive fantasy product, they have adopted convenient legal arguments that should not be immediately accepted as good-faith disagreements on the law.”
Wallach also points out that, prior to 2021, a violation of section 849.14 was considered a 2nd degree misdemeanor.
In 2021, the Florida Legislature increased the penalty to a 3rd degree felony. That enhancement was enacted as part of the same legislation ratifying the Seminole Tribe’s new gaming compact.
PrizePicks and Fantasy Underdog both intend to continue to operate in the state.
Legalized sports betting in the Sunshine State has been halted for the time being. Owners of two Florida pari-mutuels plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether the Seminole Tribe monopoly of sports gambling statewide violates state violates federal law.
A Washington, D.C.-based appeals court last week refused to reconsider a ruling by a three judge panel that found the 2021 compact with the state did not violate the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA, which regulates gambling on tribal lands.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
