West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island are next up all have all passed sports betting bills and are expected to launch in the fall. Delaware and New Jersey moved quickly both launched legal sports betting in June. Supreme Court in May struck down PASPA, the federal law that prohibited states from legalizing sports betting, some states have scrambled to pass sports betting bills, and DraftKings and FanDuel have raced to set up shop along with them. Even today, there remain nine states where DraftKings and FanDuel don’t operate, because state law deems their fantasy contests illegal gambling.Īnd yet the companies are now focusing full-steam-ahead on gambling.Īfter the U.S.
As recently as last fall, each company had to pay a $1.3 million “unfair and deceptive practices” fine in Massachusetts.
For two years, DraftKings and FanDuel, the two leading “daily fantasy sports” companies, spent most of their time fighting legal battles with state attorneys general, and arguing that their fantasy contests did not constitute gambling.
