California Attorney General Rob Bonta plans to take action against daily fantasy sports apps still active in the state, after declaring them illegal.
“The next step is our enforcement, and laws are meant to be enforced,” Bonta told KCRA 3 in a televised interview this week.
Bonta’s office published the opinion July 3, determining that DFS contests offered by companies like FanDuel, DraftKings, PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy qualify as sports betting and are therefore illegal under California law. Each has continued to operate in the Golden State.
What’s coming for California DFS apps?
What enforcement might look like in California remains unclear.
In denying a request from Underdog to block the opinion, a Sacramento Superior Court noted that attorney general opinions are “advisory only and do not carry the weight of the law,” and thus it was not evident how Underdog would suffer harm from its release.
“It is a violation of the law, as our legal opinion has indicated, to provide a platform in the state of California to California consumers for the daily fantasy sports at issue,” Bonta said. “Laws are meant to be enforced and we expect our legal opinion to be followed and complied with.”
His office did not identify steps or a timeline for action.
A patchwork of state by state clarity
Bonta is the latest state official to weigh in on DFS, an industry long scrutinized over whether contests are games of skill or chance. A patchwork of states have addressed legality through legislation, agency rulings, or court decisions, though in others it remains ambiguous due to lack of enforcement.
In Texas, for example, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion in 2016 deeming DFS illegal gambling. Nearly a decade later, operators still serve the state, and the matter remains unresolved in court.
California DFS apps still active
Underdog and PrizePicks both changed their popular pick’em contests to a peer-to-peer format in California following the July 3 opinion, a move that has satisfied regulators in other states. Both companies, however, have exited states like Florida and New York in recent years.
DraftKings and FanDuel have not made any changes to their California offerings and continue to run DFS contests in the state.
“FanDuel is currently reviewing the legal opinion issued by the California Attorney General regarding daily fantasy contests,” a company FAQ reads. “You can continue to participate in daily fantasy competitions. Any active or pending contests will be scored and paid out normally.”
Underdog: AG has no authority
Bonta’s opinion answered a 2023 request from former State Senator Scott Wilk and a more recent follow‑up from Assemblymember Tom Lackey, both asking whether DFS platforms can legally serve California residents.
In its court filing, Underdog argued that Bonta had no statutory authority to issue the opinion, writing that the question “does not relate to the duties of the official requesting the opinion” and that Bonta was overstepping by issuing it.
“When the AG of the State of California gets a formal request for a legal opinion, as we did here from two separate legislators, it’s our duty, not our discretion, to respond,” Bonta said. “It is an objective, straightforward description of what existing law is.”
The first California AG to respond
Bonta told KCRA he was legally obligated to answer Wilk’s formal request, though his office is the first to do so. Previous attorneys general, Xavier Becerra and Kamala Harris, declined to respond to similar inquiries.
Multiple DFS bills have since failed to pass in the legislature. They have faced fierce opposition from tribal gaming groups, which have long played a central role in shaping gambling policy in Sacramento.
Earlier this month the California Nations Indian Gaming Association urged lawmakers and regulators to “back up the legal opinion with strong enforcement and that lawbreakers be held to account.”
Records show California tribes have contributed at least $71,800 to Bonta’s 2026 reelection campaign and more than $330,000 to his campaigns since 2014.
