State gambling regulators in New York have drawn a hard line between daily fantasy sports and sports betting.
At its Oct. 3 meeting, the New York State Gaming Commission officially adopted into state regulations that NY fantasy sports sports contests “shall not be based on proposition betting or contests that have the effect of mimicking proposition betting.”
Put simply: DFS contests are illegal if they closely resemble NY sports betting offerings.
Any DFS contest involving props ‘are prohibited’
The NYSGC did not discuss the rule much further, as commissioners reviewed the proposal during their August meeting.
In any case, the state updated rules in the state register to deem specific DFS contests as “essentially sports betting.”
The new rules state:
“Contests in which a contestant must choose, directly or indirectly, whether an individual athlete or a single team will surpass an identified statistical achievement, such as points scored, are prohibited.”
It’s expected that the new regulations will be finalized and published in the state register by Oct. 18.
Still a fluid process as state determines what is and isn’t NY sports betting
The public comment period regarding this rule expired on Sept. 18, according to Robert Williams, executive director of the NYSGC. The commission received feedback from the likes of FanDuel, Mojo Interactive, Inc., Vivid Seats, LLC and the Coalition for Fantasy Sports – which represents PrizePicks, Sleeper and Underdog Fantasy.
Those latter three companies are the preeminent DFS operators that offer games affected most by these new rules.
“We will continue to work with the gaming commission to ensure we operate under the finalized fantasy sports rules,” an Underdog spokesperson told Legal Sports Report.
Added PrizePicks: “We are meeting regularly with the NYGC to discuss the future of fantasy sports in New York. We are grateful for the advocacy efforts of our many members in the state and will work with policymakers to ensure that they can continue to play the fantasy sports they know and love.”
Williams did mention that the NYSGC continues to receive comments and concerns regarding daily fantasy sports in New York. As a result, he said, “we’re going to continue to review those, and should we determine any of them are appropriate we’ll advance additional amendments in the future.”
