Menu
Sports in Society

Yahoo, CBS, Other Smaller Outfits Taking Different Approaches With Daily Fantasy Sports

As FanDuel and DraftKings "fight to protect their lucrative enterprises, other companies offering daily fantasy sports are taking different approaches to how they operate as their new industry faces increased scrutiny," according to Philip Marcelo of the AP. Yahoo, a top site for season-long fantasy sports, "remains active" in DFS. Yahoo, which is "among the companies that have the luxury to pick battles until the dust settles," has withdrawn from Florida, but remains in New York. CBS Sports, "another big player in the traditional, season-long fantasy sports world that offers competition for cash prizes, appears to be taking a more conservative approach," having "quietly withdrawn" from DFS. The company "rolled out its daily fantasy games under a revived SportsLine brand about midway through" the MLB season, but the games "never continued into the more lucrative NFL season, as expected." Lesser-known DFS companies also are "scaling back." U.K.-based Mondogoal "has pulled out of seven states so far." Founder & CEO Shergul Arshad said that he is "considering pulling up stakes entirely from the U.S." N.Y.-based Star Fantasy Leagues COO Seth Young said that his company "pulled out of 25 states recently because it concluded the risks were too great after examining local laws." Young: "We'd rather see the clarity and re-enter" (AP, 11/30).

MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK: New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez last week said that he would "make a ruling 'very soon' on whether to grant" Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's injunction request to ban FanDuel and DraftKings, among others, from "accepting money from New York residents." The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sharon Terlep reported the two DFS operators "appeared in court Wednesday to argue vigorously" the plan to "shut them down in the state." The companies asserted that they should "be allowed to operate until the matter is settled at trial." Mendez extended what was "supposed to be an hour-long hearing" for an additional hour. New York "delivers the biggest contingent of daily fantasy players, accounting for 12.8% of players." Mendez, who asked only two questions during the hearing, said that he "understands there is skill involved in picking a fantasy lineup." But he added, "You are relying on someone else to play the game" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/27). In Boston, Dan Adams writes DraftKings and FanDuel during the hearing "were put in the awkward position of having to say that their contests actually demand considerable skill to win." Their attorneys argued that "just a handful of players win nearly all the prizes, and those players spend up to 90 hours a week studying athletes and crunching numbers to do it." They presented Schneiderman with "detailed statistical analyses," which "generally echo an oft-cited McKinsey & Co. study of daily fantasy baseball" -- a mere 1.3% of fantasy players won about 91% of the prize money, while 85% of players lost money (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/30).

THE REBUTTAL: In Boston, Curt Woodward reported DraftKings is "rebutting allegations that it collected nearly $500,000 in entry fees from players in five U.S. states where daily fantasy sports games are considered banned." DraftKings said that its team of analysts "tracked down more than 250 players whose accounts were in some way associated with the states of Washington, Montana, Louisiana, Iowa, and Arizona" and found that most of the nearly $485,000 in disputed fees from '14 "proved to be from players who actually lived in other states" where DFS is permissible. DraftKings did not say why the players’ accounts were initially associated with banned states, but its court filings suggested that players "may have moved, had residencies in multiple states, or even mistakenly filled out their online registration forms." It was not clear if DraftKings’ explanation "would mollify regulators in those states who previously said they were probing the claims of improper payments" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/29).

NUMBERS DON'T LIE: FanDuel in a recent court filing said that its users "are typically married males between ages of 25 and 44 who live in a small town or suburb and make more than $75,000." FanDuel also said that Schneiderman's accusation that the games attract problem gamblers "is false." The company noted that of the 268,014 New Yorkers who have paid to play on FanDuel this year, 172 "have lost more than $10,000 and 16 have lost more than $50,000" (NEWSDAY, 11/29).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/11/30/Sports-In-Society/DFS.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/11/30/Sports-In-Society/DFS.aspx

CLOSE