New York judge upholds daily fantasy sports ban

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 11 December 2015

A New York judge has upheld the state attorney general's injunction barring the operation of daily fantasy sites, including DraftKings and FanDuel. The decision is a major setback for the websites, which garner over 12 percent of their players from New York state.

Much of the case involved a debate concerning if gambling on fantasy sites is a competition of chance or skill. "I place my bet, pick my team and watch television. Chance pervades daily fantasy sports," lawyer Kathleen McGee argued on the behalf of the state, according to The New York Times. The court seemed to agree during the hearing, SB Nation points out:

THE COURT: But I think what they are arguing is... the fact that you have the skill to pick the players, fine, you have that skill. But now you are relying on someone else's skill to play the game, and that is your contingency there, how that other person performs. ...Justice Mendez then used the example of the "hole-in-one" golf case [Las Vegas Hacienda, Inc. v. Gibson, 359 P.2d 85 (Nev. 1961)], cited earlier by [FanDuel’s outside counsel, John] Kiernan, to make the point that the golfer who pays the entry fee to participate in a hole-in-one golf contest is relying entirely on his own skill and not someone else's. [Legal Sports Report]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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