John Oliver explains why daily fantasy sports is gambling, and why that matters


The first thing John Oliver wants you to know about daily fantasy sports is that it isn't at all like your office's NCAA tournament bracket pool. The second thing, he said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight, is that one reason you see DraftKings and FanDuel ads on TV every 90 seconds is that major TV networks — including HBO's parent, Time Warner — have financial stakes in the companies, and the NFL and MLB have sponsorship deals with them. Also, they're addictive — "daily fantasy sports combine everything dudes love: Sports, money, and a lack of commitment," he said — and they are being shut down in some states because they are essentially unregulated gambling.
The daily fantasy sites go out of their way to argue that they're (legal) games of skill, not (illegal) games of chance, but everything they do points to gambling, including sponsoring poker tournaments. "They're basically saying, 'If you love poker, you'll love DraftKings — for completely unrelated reasons!'" Oliver said. They have been exploiting a legal loophole to stay open, but the fantasy is starting to wear off.
"Look, by any rational definition, daily fantasy is gambling — which isn't necessarily a bad thing, people clearly love it," Oliver said. But if America is going to "de facto legalize sports gambling," it should be on purpose, not because DraftKings and FanDuel "have somehow weaseled out a way to pretend they're not something that they clearly are." Unregulated gambling has victims, he added, and until the lawyers and politicians figure this out, DraftKings and FanDuel should at least make their ads "a little more honest." Naturally, Oliver made an example ad for them, and while it's typically funny, the part with Seth Rogen and Kathryn Hahn definitely throws some elbows. Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Sudoku hard: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub