“This Week In Daily” is LegalSportsReport’s weekly wrap of key facts, happenings and miscellany from the daily fantasy sports industry.
Stories of note
State progress
It was a busy week for states that were considering legislation dealing with daily fantasy sports:
- A bill that would legalize DFS in Kansas passed both the state senate and house. It appears that a signature from Gov. Sam Brownback is likely to make it a law.
- Louisiana took a step toward legalization this week as well, as a bill passed a vote in the House.
- Pennsylvania is poised to introduce a bill allowing casinos to run daily fantasy sports tournaments.
Keep up to speed will all the legislation with our bill tracker.
Million for Mayweather
When FanDuel announced that it had purchased a spot on Floyd Mayweather’s trunks for his megafight with Manny Pacquiao, no one really knew how much that might cost, other than “a lot.”
After Mayweather’s victory, Fortune this week reported that the amount was around a million dollars. Far less than the $5 million rumor that had been floating around on social media, but still a lot of money.
What kind of return will they get on that investment? We’re not sure we’ll find that out, although some advertisers have been taking heat for sponsoring Mayweather, given his history of domestic violence. Regardless, it’s another example of FanDuel’s willingness to spend big and make bold moves to retain its spot atop DFS.
Of the week
Read(s) of the week
Perhaps the most interesting thing you’ll read on the DFS industry, and a story we’re guessing most who are involved in the industry might take issue with. It’s an angle offered up on DFS that we haven’t really seen from any media outlet — at least not all in one fell swoop.
The story basically takes all the labels and problems that the DFS industry tries to avoid or downplay, dissects them and lays it all out there:
- It calls DFS gambling, and says it can be an addictive activity.
- It questions the legality of DFS.
- It calls into question the fact that the industry isn’t regulated.
Agree or disagree, the story is a fascinating read, and one that could start to change the framing and dialogue on fantasy sports.
“Daily Fantasy Sports And The PokerStars Paradox”
At least for the U.S. market, the intersection of the gambling industry and DFS is likely not a very good thing for the growth of fantasy sports, in some respects. Highlighting that point, Amaya Gaming’s entry into daily fantasy sports could be problematic, according to a guest op-ed at LSR by Christy Keenan of DailyFantasyLobby.com.
In general, the DFS industry has taken great pains to hold onto its status as a skill game and distance itself from online gambling. Keenan argues that the industry should be wary of a linkage with online poker, which is a licensed activity in only three of the 50 states in America. Amaya is planning on rolling out a PokerStars DFS product, but Keenan suggests that Amaya should leverage its Full Tilt brand, to at least help appearances.
Right now, there is a lot of momentum behind efforts to legalize and promote DFS in the U.S. The more linkage to gambling there is for DFS, the more obstacles that could pop up for the industry.
Tweet of the week
Think its in extremely poor taste that @fanduel is sponsoring Mayweather. Guy is complete scumbag who has repeatedly abused women
— Andrew Wiggins (@AndrewWiggins) May 2, 2015
Number of the week
8
The number of states with active legislation dealing with DFS.
