PrizePicks has launched a peer-to-peer version of its pick’em daily fantasy sports game in four states, the company announced Thursday.
PrizePicks Arena is now available in:
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
The company no longer offers its paid player vs. house pick’em games in Alabama or Wyoming, according to a company spokesperson. It has not offered those games in West Virginia nor Tennessee, where it was recently awarded a fantasy license.
Regulator concerns lead to change
The switch comes six months after Wyoming regulators issued cease and desist orders to PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy for offering what they deemed unlicensed sports wagering. Alabama, the only PrizePicks Arena state where sports betting is illegal, contacted both companies around the same time, asking them to tweak their offerings.
“The switch for those states is due to regulatory desire for a peer-to-peer game rather than the core gaming product,” a company spokesperson said in an email.
How PrizePicks Arena works
PrizePicks Arena places users into different groups depending on the number of entries they place, how high their entry fee is, and their experience level on the platform. Users with the highest-scoring entry within a group or a perfect lineup stand to win guaranteed pool prizes (GPP.)
“We’re focused on expanding PrizePicks’ reach by creating new, innovative game types that push the PrizePicks brand and truly put sports fans at the center of gameplay,” Brian Huss, vice president of innovation, said in a press release. “PrizePicks Arena is an exciting new twist on the PrizePicks experience that paves the way for future product innovations.”
The contests closely resemble pick’em games where users select a combination of different athletes to go either over or under a given stat line. Those fantasy contests, which pit players against the house, have been addressed with bans in Michigan and New York for concerns over potential overlap with sports betting.
PrizePicks joins Underdog, DraftKings in P2P DFS
Underdog, a chief competitor, recently launched its own peer-to-peer pick’em in many of the same states. Founder and co-CEO Jeremy Levine has accused FanDuel and DraftKings of using their lobbying power to influence regulators against player vs. house pick’em.
Neither company offers player vs. house games outside of their regulated sports betting businesses; however, in December, DraftKings launched its own version of peer-to-peer pick’em.
