Pro sports leagues are "traditionally ferocious opponents of gambling on their sports, online or off," but many have "quietly embraced gambling on fantasy sports, apparently aware that the passion for it is crucial to their bottom lines," according to Joe Drape of the N.Y. TIMES. MLB especially has "taken daily fantasy sports under its wing." The league has a partnership with DraftKings, which "offers a daily contest on MLB.com in which prizes include tickets to games rather than cash." MLB execs "see daily fantasy sports as an increasingly important part of their future." MLBAM President & CEO Bob Bowman said that the company was "exploring a larger partnership with DraftKings and did not rule out the possibility of cash tournaments or other formats in which money is at stake." Bowman: "Season-long fantasy is a war of attrition. The cleverness here is that it’s over quickly, and for a younger generation, it’s more appropriate. It’s where the people are. It drives traffic. It’s not to make extra bucks for MLB.com." DraftKings has "introduced a game built around golf’s four major championships; $300,000 will be given away for the contest around the PGA Championship in August, with $100,000 to the winner." The NFL, NBA and MLB "may continue to explore what to do with daily fantasy sports as they continue their fight against the legalization of sports betting." Rotowire Fantasy Sports Advisor Michael Rathburn said, "The leagues don’t want to see gambling legalized, but they know how much traffic and interest fantasy is driving. This was the happy medium." FanDuel CEO & co-Founder Nigel Eccles said that the success that daily fantasy sports had "achieved in a short period of time had gotten the professional leagues' attention." Eccles: "We have had informal relationships with them, but we think that will change" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/29).
FANTASY PAWNS? THE MMQB's Peter King reports some NFL players and coaches feel "undue pressure" from "big-money fantasy-football players." King: "I had one coach tell me there's so much money in some of these fantasy-football playoff pools that people who used to gamble with bookies illegally are now gambling in high-stakes fantasy-football leagues, which is not illegal." The NFL "has its antennae up over this, and it’ll be interesting to see if the pressure escalates to more serious threats on players or coaches" (MMQB.SI.com, 7/28).
