Fantasy Sports Industry News

Fantasy Sports Industry News

New York AG Regarding DraftKings Scandal: ‘Looking at Illegality or Fraud’

DraftKings and FanDuel are scrambling to reassure customers and prosecutors in the wake of a scandal compared to insider trading.

BetOnline

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/08/2015

Esteemed Gambling Attorney and NJ Sports Betting: ‘Court Wrong Again’

Nelson Rose recently wrote a piece detailing why he believes the Court of Appeal was incorrect in ruling that New Jersey could not regulate sports betting in the state.

Submitted by Gilbert Horowitz on, Oct/08/2015

Sporting News: DFS Scandal Blur Goodell, NFL Line Between Fantasy and Gambling

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke at the owners’ meetings Wednesday, addressing the recent scandal concerning Daily Fantasy Sports.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/07/2015

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins Says He Hasn’t Heard From NFL Yet Regarding Scandal

Daily Fantasy Sports company DraftKings CEO Jason Robins appeared on Fox Business Network Wednesday insisting an employee did nothing wrong by playing on a competing site and winning $350,000, insisting at the time he made his picks that the employee in question did not have access to insider information.

Robins also told Maria Bartiromo he is yet to hear from the NFL, a partner in DraftKings, regarding the controversy that has made the rounds of most news outlets over the past 48 hours.

Submitted by Tyrone Black on, Oct/07/2015

DraftKings Debacle Hits All Corners of the Media as NY AG Wants Answers

You know things are bad when MSNBC’s resident nerd (and we mean that in a good way) Chris Hayes devotes a good ten minutes discussing a scandal in Daily Fantasy Sports. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/07/2015

DraftKings Fate Lies With Mass, NY Attorney Generals Amidst Probe, Scandal

Boston-based Daily Fantasy Sports site DraftKings will soon learn its fate as Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey determines whether the company can continue operating in the state.

Submitted by Tyrone Black on, Oct/06/2015

DraftKings Pulls All Ads From ESPN Amidst Scandal

Following reports that ESPN would scale back on DraftKings sponsorship graphics and language within its programs, DraftKings said it had pulled all of its advertisements from the 24-hour sports network amidst a high profile scandal.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/06/2015

‘Racist’ PR Guru Finds Herself at Center of Daily Fantasy Sports Scandal

Justine Sacco, who was fired from Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp media empire for an offensive Twitter comment about AIDS, has landed a job at Daily Fantasy Sports site FanDuel and once again finds herself in hot water.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Oct/06/2015

Brennan Jr: ‘NY Times So Anti-DFS Since Ex-Editor Not Profiting From It’

Daily Fantasy Sports industry analyst Joe Brennan, Jr. tweeted Tuesday that the New York Times may have a hidden agenda when it comes to their scathing report on a recent scandal at DraftKings.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Oct/06/2015

Breaking News: ESPN Pulling DraftKings Spots in Wake of Scandal

On ESPN's "Outside the Lines," segment Tuesday afternoon, Bob Ley disclosed that the 24-7 sports network would be dropping DraftKings sponsored elements within its programing following allegations of possible insider cheating within the company.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/06/2015

Raptors, Maple Leafs Sign 4-Year Contract With DraftKings Amidst Scandal

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs, has signed a 4-year promotion deal with Daily Fantasy Sports site DraftKings amidst a massive “insider information” scandal that threatens to take down an entire industry.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/06/2015

McGraw Milhaven: FanDuel and DraftKings a ‘Pyramid Scheme’

550KTRS St. Louis sports radio talk show host McGraw Milhaven is one of many crying foul Tuesday morning in light of a scandal that has rocked the Daily Fantasy Sports world this week.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/06/2015

DraftKings Has No Comment on ‘Insider Info’ Policy as Scandal Boils Over

Leading Daily Fantasy Sports site DraftKings would not comment on their policy and internal controls related to “insider information”, while standing by an employee who won $350,000 at a competing site’s contest finishing second place. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/06/2015

ESPN No Longer Mum on DraftKings Controversy Amidst Partnership Deal

ESPN is the 24/7 sports network but, despite the explosive controversy revolving around a potential insider cheating scandal at Daily Fantasy Sports site DraftKings, the network was slow to react to the news until Tuesday morning.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Oct/05/2015

DFS Staff Knowing Player % Info and Using on Other Site Clearly an Edge

The Twitter Universe is now lighting up with folks blasting the Daily Fantasy Sports industry for not having a better handle on their employees and their ability to, not only gain access to player usage information, but utilizing said data to win big on competing DFS sites.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/05/2015

AP: Transparency Scandal Rocks Daily Fantasy Sports Industry

(Associated Press) - An early release of lineup information in a DraftKings contest is raising questions about the transparency of the burgeoning daily fantasy industry.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Oct/05/2015

DraftKings, FanDuel Ad Blitz Drawing More Scrutiny to DFS Industry

You’ve seen the ads.  How could you not have?  Even if you don’t watch Football, DraftKings and FanDuel advertisements are popping up all over the boob tube including on 24-hour cable news networks like CNN and HLN (if you can still call the later news).

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Oct/05/2015

How Insider Information at Daily Fantasy Sports Sites May Provide Unfair Edge

In DFS911.com’s continuing series entitled Daily Fantasy F***ed, our sister site looks at the potential unfair advantage employees have in collecting data that can assist them with winning competing website contests.

Submitted by Payton on, Oct/04/2015

DraftKings Ads Can Now Feature Current NFL Players as Part of Marketing Deal

DraftKings, one of the top two Daily Fantasy Sports sites in the world, will now be able to feature current NFL players in its ads as part of a new marketing deal with the league.  

Launched in 2012, the website has managed to raise $300 million in financing this season, much of which has been used for marketing purposes.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/30/2015

New York Times: Daily Fantasy Sports and Hidden Costs of Weird U.S. Gambling Laws

The New York Times on Thursday discusses how some odd piece of legislation, the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, has helped to facility today’s boom in Daily Fantasy Sports, the very activity it was likely trying to prevent.

Online gambling diehards know the legislation well and by its abbreviated form UIGEA. 

Submitted by Don Shapiro on, Sep/24/2015

Mass AG on DraftKings: ‘This is a New Industry, It’s Something We Are Reviewing’

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says her office is reviewing the business practices of Daily Fantasy Sports website Draftkings to ensure they are operating within the legal framework of current law.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sep/22/2015

No Need to Panic Over Daily Fantasy Sports Congressional Scrutiny Says Expert

An industry expert laughed off concerns over efforts by New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone’s attempt to study Daily Fantasy Sports and their relationship to the four professional leagues.

Joe Brennan, Jr., an industry expert who himself will be launching a new DFS site based in London, England, Fast Fantasy, pointed to efforts by certain politicians to stop legalized online poker in the U.S.

Brennan, Jr. tweeted last week:

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/21/2015

Daily Fantasy Sports for Suckers Research Suggests

Gambling911.com sister site DFS911.com Monday reports on how a series of research determined that Daily Fantasy Sports are not what they are cracked up to be.

A paywalled survey of 1,400 DFS players that Eilers Research shared with Tech Insider shows that 70% of Daily Fantasy Sports players actually reported losing money.

Submitted by Don Shapiro on, Sep/21/2015

Lawmakers Look to Determine Legality of Daily Fantasy Sports in Florida

TALLAHASSEE (Associated Press) -- As the NFL season kicks off, another big contest may be soon be played in the halls of the Florida Capitol.

The growing fantasy sports industry, which is already subjecting television viewers to a barrage of wall-to-wall advertising with the new football season, is now setting its sights on getting the blessings of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Sep/15/2015

Congressman May Want to Stick It to Leagues With Daily Fantasy Sports Study

So finally Congress has decided to act on the explosive world of Daily Fantasy Sports, though most experts agree they are probably a bit too late to act.

After all, millions of dollars has been pumped into the industry from many of the major sports leagues, ESPN and a number of millionaire investors.

On Monday it was announced that Democratic congressman Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey would like to have a Congressional committee take a look at the connection between fantasy sports and gambling.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/14/2015

Who Has The Best Daily Fantasy Sports Software for Operators?

With so many Daily Fantasy Sports (or DFS) sites popping up, we here at Gambling911.com wondered which company offered the best Daily Fantasy software.

We’ve heard of DraftKings and FanDuel but when it comes to the actual software backend, Rochester, New York-based Star Fantasy Leagues is one of the first - and many would argue, one of the best - on the market today.

We recently had a chance to sit down with Seth Young, Chief Operating Officer of Star Fantasy Leagues, who was very candid in discussing the state of the industry as it is today.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Sep/14/2015

Associated Press: DraftKings, FanDuel Under Intense Scrutiny

(Associated Press) - Think wagering $20 to win $1 million by picking a winning combination of NFL players for a fantasy team this Sunday is gambling? The league says it isn't.

So do fast-growing daily fantasy sports companies like DraftKings and FanDuel that offer the games and advertise with the long gambling-adverse pro football organization.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Sep/14/2015

Daily Fantasy F***ed Looks at the Man Behind DFS Site Swagger Stadium

Gambling911.com Sister site DFS911.com begins its new series called “Daily Fantasy F***ed” whereby they look at some of the – excuse our French – f***ed up occurrences taking place in the world of Daily Fantasy Sports.

Submitted by Payton on, Sep/13/2015

New DFS911.com Series ‘Daily Fantasy F***ed’ to Focus on Seedy Side of Sector

You’ve asked for it and DFS911.com in conjunction with sister site Gambling911.com have heard you loud and clear.  Introducing “Daily Fantasy F***ed”, a new series of articles that will focus on the seedy side of the Daily Fantasy Sports world.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Sep/11/2015

Vanity Fair Includes Men Behind DraftKings and FanDuel in ‘New Establishment 2015’

Vanity Fair on Thursday featured a piece profiling the men behind Daily Fantasy Sports biggest sites, DraftKings and FanDuel: Nigel Eccles and Jason Robins.

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Sep/10/2015

Breaking News