With the NFL season in the rearview mirror, PrizePicks will no longer offer its popular pick’em daily fantasy sports games in New York as of this Thursday.
New York PrizePicks users were notified of the change in emails sent after Super Bowl 58 on Monday morning. It comes four months after New York regulators agreed to ban DFS games that have the effect of mirroring player props offered by sportsbooks.
“Due to recent updates in the licensing rules enacted by the New York State Gaming Commission, we put pause our paid contests in the state. After Wednesday, 2/14 at 11:59 p.m. ET, our traditional Pick ‘Em game will not be available,” the email read.
Customers can access their accounts to withdraw outstanding funds at any time, according to PrizePicks.
PrizePicks eyes P2P pick’em in New York
Several DFS companies have switched to peer-to-peer games in several states amid crackdowns on player vs. house fantasy, which some regulators say is akin to sports betting.
PrizePicks hopes to eventually offer peer-to-peer pick’em in New York, which it launched in several states a few weeks ago.
It will provide a free-to-play version in New York until it gets regulatory approval for paid fantasy. It operates free-to-play contests in Michigan, where it switched over after the state issued rules nearly identical to New York.
“We have notified our customers in New York that we will be switching to our FTP offering in the state on February 15th. We’re actively working with the New York Gaming Commission to get approval and licensure for our peer to peer product, Arena, and will be offering our free to play version until then,” a spokesperson with PrizePicks said in an emailed statement. “Our team is constantly working on a state by state basis to get the necessary approvals (and licenses where available) to offer our core PrizePicks product. That said – Arena, our peer to peer product, has been doing amazingly since launch and we’re excited to continue to roll it out as well.”
Pick’em companies exit New York
PrizePicks is now the third fantasy sports operator to pull pick’em games in New York after the rule change:
- Sleeper stopped offering its pick’em games in New York after the ban took effect in October.
- Thrive Fantasy also emailed customers after the Super Bowl, announcing that it is ceasing all operations in New York as of Tuesday.
That leaves Underdog Fantasy as the last major pick’em operator in New York. A company spokesperson said Underdog has a temporary DFS license and has applied for a permanent license, but declined to address plans to leave the state.
The NYSGC declined to comment on any potential action the companies face.
No more pick’em exits planned for now
PrizePicks did not indicate plans to stop offering paid player vs. house pick’em games in other states.
Like Underdog, it continues to operate in jurisdictions like Florida, despite orders to cease and desist operations. Meanwhile, the California Attorney General is reviewing a similar potential crackdown against pick’em DFS.
