Daily fantasy players prepare for a long campaign

Wednesday headlines saw heavy pushback and reaction to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s decision to make fantasy sports operations illegal under state law, mandating that companies shut down operations in the state as they were considered illegal gambling.

Industry heavyweights DraftKings and FanDuel responded aggressively. DraftKings noted that “We strongly disagree with the reasoning in his opinion and will examine and vigorously pursue all legal options available to ensure our over half a million customers in New York State can continue to play the fantasy sports games they love,” according to NBC News. Meanwhile, FanDuel took a similar tact, stating “The game has been played – legally – in New York for years and years, but after the attorney general realized he could now get himself some press coverage, he decided a game that has been around for a long, long time is suddenly now not legal.”

The ripple effect, however, saw four smaller daily fantasy sports sites – DailyMVP, DraftDay, DraftOps and MondoGoal Trading Ltd. Report that they will stop letting NY-based users enter their paid contests.

Meanwhile, with national legislation and regulation of daily fantasy sites being cooked up, the American Gaming Association revealed plans to assemble a group focused on carving out a potential new path for the legal sports betting industry, in a move to find a “rational alternative” to existing sports betting law, according to LV Weekly, noting “If daily fantasy sports is a legal activity, the casino gaming industry should have the opportunity to participate and partner with daily fantasy sports providers,” in a statement.

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