Draft Kings Scandal

[bsmooth]

Their whole defense is it is skill and not gambling.

[BuccaneerBrad]

Their whole defense is it is skill and not gambling.

Any time you risk money in a game with a chance to win more if you win that game, you are gambling.   No other way to spin it.

[Spider-Dan]

Congress already passed an anti-gambling bill in which fantasy sports are explicitly defined as a game of skill.  That bill did not address daily fantasy sports, so the DFS sites are proceeding under the assumption that fantasy and daily fantasy are necessarily the same thing.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Congress already passed an anti-gambling bill in which fantasy sports are explicitly defined as a game of skill.  That bill did not address daily fantasy sports, so the DFS sites are proceeding under the assumption that fantasy and daily fantasy are necessarily the same thing.

 Congress passed a bill prohibitting most online gambling but not including fantasy sports.  Nothing in the federal bill prevents the states from more restive  prohibitions.

[MikeO]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/30/pierre-garcon-files-class-action-against-fanduel/

Now a player is suing FanDuel in a class action lawsuit

[Brian Fein]

This part is interesting:

DraftKings presumably was not sued because it has struck an advertising deal with the NFL Players Association, allowing DraftKings to use player images and names. The next question becomes whether the lawsuit was in any way instigated by DraftKings or the NFLPA, as part of an effort to help DraftKings prevail in the cola war that has been unfolding between the two primary DFS companies.

Shady business...

[BuccaneerBrad]

Congress already passed an anti-gambling bill in which fantasy sports are explicitly defined as a game of skill.  That bill did not address daily fantasy sports, so the DFS sites are proceeding under the assumption that fantasy and daily fantasy are necessarily the same thing.

OK, so if it's a game of skill, then it's not gambling?  How does that make any sense?  If you and I sat down to play a game of, say chess, and we agree that the loser has to pay the winner $100, how is that not gambling?

If you're wagering money, you're gambling.

[Dave Gray]

If you're wagering money, you're gambling.

Colloquially, yes.  But legally, perhaps not.  That's the point.  Is a winner of a skill tournament gambling if the tournament has an entry fee?  What about the stock market?

If you ask me, it's all gambling.   But it's important to draw distinctions for proper regulations.

[Spider-Dan]

OK, so if it's a game of skill, then it's not gambling?  How does that make any sense?

Because your compensation is tied to your own performance, which is directly under your control.  That isn't "gambling;" that's work.

For example: commissioned sales are not considered "gambling," yet you could argue that they are tied just as much to factors out of your control (i.e. whether or not customers decide to buy) as a competition with a cash prize.  Additionally, consider that athletes receive increased compensation based on their own performance.  Is a Pro Bowl incentive in Tannehill's contract "gambling"?  Of course not; he has to earn that reward.

Traditionally, the distinction between "gambling" and "earned income" is whether or not it is based on random chance (read: luck).  That's why "contests of skill" are not considered gambling under the law.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Commission sales people don't pay an ante.  Bad example.  Try to distinguish the difference between DF and Texas holdem

[Sunstroke]

Commission sales people don't pay an ante.  Bad example. 

Yeah, that was definitely a bad example.

Try to distinguish the difference between DF and Texas holdem

Oops...so is this. The cards you are dealt in Texas Hold'em are at random, while you select the players in DFS based on your knowledge of their talent and situational factors.

[masterfins]

The NYS Attorney General has ruled that Draft Kings & Fan Duel are not games of skill, but rather illegal gambling, so it's out for NY.

[Brian Fein]

I pay $50 to enter a bodybuilding competition, where the winner gets $10,000 and a lifetime supply of Muscle Milk.

Is that gambling?

[Spider-Dan]

Commission sales people don't pay an ante.

If by "ante" you mean entry fee, I'm pretty sure that there are commissioned sales jobs that require some sort of startup fee (if only for some arbitrary "pre-certification").

Furthermore, there are hundreds of professional competitions (with entry fees) that pay out different rewards based on results.  So you tell me: how is the PGA Tour different than the WSOP?

But ultimately, the distinction of what is "gambling" and what is a "game of skill" almost entirely an arbitrary decision by government officials.  Congress declared fantasy sports a "game of skill;" meanwhile, state law enforcement is rapidly declaring DFS "gambling."  Is there really any meaningful difference between the two?

[Tenshot13]

If by "ante" you mean entry fee, I'm pretty sure that there are commissioned sales jobs that require some sort of startup fee (if only for some arbitrary "pre-certification").

Furthermore, there are hundreds of professional competitions (with entry fees) that pay out different rewards based on results.  So you tell me: how is the PGA Tour different than the WSOP?

OH OH, I KNOW THIS ONE!

One is Golf and one is Poker.

Glad I could drop some knowledge.