PrizePicks notified Florida customers Friday that it will cease operations in the Sunshine State on March 1, a week after LSR reported the impending departure.
“We are writing you with an important update. At the request of the Florida Gaming Control Commission, we are pausing our contests in the state,” PrizePicks said in an email to Florida customers. “After Thursday, 2/29 at 11:59 p.m. ET, you will no longer be able to place entries on PrizePicks.”
PrizePicks is one of several daily fantasy sports apps to receive two cease and desist orders from the Florida Gaming Control Commission concerning “illegal bets” offered to Florida residents. Earlier this month, LSR reported that PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy plan to leave the state by March 1 as a result.
PrizePicks working to ‘bring greater clarity’
In exchange for their cooperation, the FGCC agreed not to take further action against those companies. PrizePicks, meanwhile, vowed to return.
“We are working with policymakers to bring greater clarity to fantasy sports laws in FL, and hope to provide an update on these efforts soon,” PrizePicks said in the email to Florida customers.
Florida recently relaunched legal sports betting, which is exclusively offered via the Seminole Tribe and Hard Rock Bet. The state’s stance on DFS historically is considered more of a legal gray area, though the FGCC recently identified all forms of fantasy as “likely illegal.”
Meanwhile, two competing DFS bills are floating around in the state legislature. One would exempt fantasy sports apps from gambling laws, while the other would create licensing infrastructure for DFS and expressly prohibit player vs. house pick’em contests.
Multiple states issue cease and desist orders
Florida is one of nearly a dozen states to issue cease and desist orders to companies offering those games.
Pick’em games allow users to combine different selections of athletes to go over or under a specific stat line. Winners are rewarded with payouts of multiple times their entry fees, not unlike parlays offered by sportsbooks.
They typically pit players against the house, unlike traditional peer-to-peer DFS.
