New York – Several smaller daily fantasy sports sites have stopped doing business in New York after the state’s attorney general ordered market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings to stop taking bets there.
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DailyMVP and DraftOps said they stopped taking payments in New York after Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sought to shut down the business in the state by their larger competitors. In addition, European daily fantasy site Mondogoal also said it would cease taking money in the state for now.
Schneiderman, in a letter to DraftKings and FanDuel on Tuesday, declared that the two daily fantasy sports sites were running an illegal gambling operation.
The move jeopardizes a major market in the multi-billion dollar daily fantasy sports industry and leaves many smaller operators in limbo over their New York operations.
Schneiderman’s order is an edict for other daily fantasy sports sites in New York’s market, said David Klein, a New York lawyer who advises daily fantasy sports sites on compliance issues. Klein immediately told his clients to stop doing business in the state because of the order, he said.
“To proceed otherwise is dangerous, to say the least, at this juncture,” said Klein, who does not advise DailyMVP or DraftOps.
In the games, fans pay to compete for daily cash prizes based on imaginary teams assembled from rosters of real players, which accumulate points based on how those players perform in actual games. This has enabled fans to spend money on the games with a frequency that critics say is akin to sports betting.
Schneiderman was pleased by the smaller operators’ decisions to cease operations in New York.
“We urge FanDuel and DraftKings to follow this example, by immediately meeting the terms of the Attorney General’s letter, and by ending their illegal gambling enterprise — and the economic and public health harms that come with it — here in New York,” spokesman Matt Mittenthal said.
DraftKings and FanDuel have five business days to respond to Schneiderman’s order and continue to take money from customers in the state. Both are working to fight the order.
DailyMVP and DraftOps said they would wait and see how their larger competitors fare in contesting the order.
“While we disagree with this decision, we have determined to respect the order of the attorney general,” a DailyMVP spokeswoman said. New York customers can continue to play games that are free, she said.
DraftOps did not receive an order, but also wants to follow all laws and regulations in the places where it operates, said Marie Vozikis, Operations Manager, in a statement.
Who cares about fantasy sports sites? What does this have to do with Jewish news? Why do you print this idiotic shtus?