Three daily fantasy sports operators face a Massachusetts lawsuit alleging they offered illegal MA sports betting.
Joseph Curran filed a 33-page lawsuit against three DFS operators in Massachusetts Superior Court earlier this month. Curran argues the three operators offered illegal MA sports betting with their prop-style pick’em products.
“While defendants may have some offerings which are considered daily fantasy sports, until March 2024 (and possibly beyond), they also offered sports wagers,” the lawsuit reads. “However, defendants offered and accepted sports wagers in Massachusetts illegally because they were never registered in Massachusetts as entities that can accept such bets.”
The suit involves PrizePicks, Underdog and Yahoo Sports, which Curran argues were not licensed to provide the types of products they offered until February of this year. Curran said the companies made up to $10 million monthly through the bets, and he seeks to recoup Massachusetts bettors’ funds and pledged to donate to charity.
MA daily fantasy sports offerings
Underdog said Curran does not have an account, and has never played, on the platform. PrizePicks declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“He never even played on our platform,” an Underdog spokesperson said. “It’s a completely transparent fishing attempt by a plaintiff’s lawyer, and it will get dismissed sooner rather than later. It’s just a press release searching for a legal theory, trying to extract a settlement.
“We continue to offer our product in compliance with Massachusetts law.”
The lawsuit can add additional Massachusetts residents for three months.
MA sports betting offerings
PrizePicks and Underdog agreed to stop offering against-the-house pick’em products in Massachusetts earlier this year.
Those two companies ceased their products through an agreement with the state.
Massachusetts sent cease and desist letters to 10 other DFS operators in February to stop offering pick’em games.
Massachusetts DFS companies
There are 20 active DFS companies in Massachusetts.
Since August 2022, DraftKings has generated the most DFS revenue in the state with $21.8 million. PrizePicks was a close second in that period with $20.9 million.
Underdog was a distant third, checking in with $6.7 million, while FanDuel clocked in at $4.8 million.
