OT: Fan Duel/Draft Kings

[MrYeahBut]

I had made mention in the game thread about how I was sick of being blasted by the incessant commercials for these things. Now I'm not a gambler or fantasy geek.., with apologies to those who are... but I've been wondering exactly how these fantasy leagues are legal. To me, it's gambling no matter how you look at it.

Here's a link to a story about a government investigation... I'd be interested in what any of you might have to say about it.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/15/d...on-fun-calls-for-hearing-on-fantasy-football/

 

[gmabel830]

Both organizations are being backed by private equity and have some affiliations with major networks and such.. they are here to stay in the short term.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm surprised they have an exemption. I'm also surprised people spend so much money on them. There are people playing 2 million dollars(not all at once) on those sites. The vast majority of people are losing their shirt on those sites according to the articles I've read.

People that "win" are often the guy you see in the casino that "won" 500 bucks but actually spent 2 grand to win it. Yes some people legitimately win lots of money on those sites but not the vast majority.

One of the interesting things is apparently you can't deduct your losses on taxes because it's not gambling. Some people didn't know this and tried to and then got audited.

 

[TigToad]

If you look at the small print closely, it says residents of Arizona are not eligible to win cash. FYI.

 

[Beaver]

I was in line to win $40+ last week on a $5 bet but AP screwed me over on Monday night.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I was in line to win $40+ last week on a $5 bet but the Vikings poor play calling screwed me over on Monday night.

FTFY

 

[dreamcastrocks]

If you look at the small print closely, it says residents of Arizona are not eligible to win cash. FYI.

It is the deals/laws that they have with the local Indian tribes that do not allow these. It is crap.

 

[Rivercard]

I'm still bitter that internet poker is not legal.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I'm still bitter that internet poker is not legal.

Don't get me started man....

 

[ARZCardinals]

Gambling, while fun...is a losing prop.

 

[Azlen]

I had made mention in the game thread about how I was sick of being blasted by the incessant commercials for these things. Now I'm not a gambler or fantasy geek.., with apologies to those who are... but I've been wondering exactly how these fantasy leagues are legal. To me, it's gambling no matter how you look at it.

Here's a link to a story about a government investigation... I'd be interested in what any of you might have to say about it.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/15/d...on-fun-calls-for-hearing-on-fantasy-football/

The gambling loophole involves in calling it a game of skill rather than chance. You are also not betting against the house but against the other players in your "league". The house just takes a cut.

Not 100% sure of this, but I believe that in Arizona, even season long leagues that are played for money are technically illegal according to the letter of the law. That's why they say residents of Arizona are not eligible for cash leagues. It's not really enforced though on a casual level, but commercial enterprises would be a lot more problematic.

 

[EndZone]

I saw a story on guys who are making this a profession. Some of them are ex-Stock Market guys/day traders and have developed applications to track players and weather etc etc. They win consistently but they are in the minority, and they are spending a LOT of time and money on the front end with tech and software to be profitable over the long haul. The average joe is not going to win consistently.

 

[Shaggy]

It is the deals/laws that they have with the local Indian tribes that do not allow these. It is crap.

Yep. I tried signing up for one last week and wouldn't allow me to. Even Yahoo has one similar to these 2 sites and I was denied there to as I live in Arizona.

 

[Dayman]

Since the outcome of the contests on those sites are based on multiple games being played instead of just one, they aren't classified as gambling sites. The logic behind the classification is that it takes more skill than luck to pick a winning lineup. Anyone can get lucky on an instant lottery ticket, a roll of the roulette wheel or picking the winner of a pro sports game, but it actually does take some skill and knowledge of the game to win in daily fantasy sports.

I'very profited over $10K on Fan Duel over the past 2+ years. That's net, not gross. They send me a 1099 Misc for my winnings every year, so the IRS essentially treats it like a regular job. I expect it's only a matter of time before the government throws more restrictions on daily fantasy sports, but until they do, I'll keep playing every week.

 

[Azlen]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...s-supporters-hope-see-game-legalized/7076827/

Fantasy competitions are increasingly ubiquitous activities for stat-crunching fans who want to own and manage their own dream teams of baseball players, football stars or even members of Congress.

What many Arizonans may not know, however, is that their state is among a handful where fantasy sports are technically illegal, posing potential legal risks for players and making them ineligible to win prizes.

"I thought, that's almost embarrassing,"Senate Majority Whip Adam Driggs, R-Phoenix, said at a hearing on Senate Bill 1468, which he sponsored to define fantasy sports in state law.

Despite Driggs' efforts to make fantasy competitions legal, the bill was killed in the Senate by opposition from *Native American gaming *proponents. Driggs said the issue is dead for the legislative season.

"I might try to see if there is any way to resolve some of the issues going forward," Driggs said Friday.

Driggs' bill intended to set fantasy sports apart from gambling and outline what would be considered a fantasy sport under state law.

...

 

[Southpaw]

The saturation on TV/Radio/internet/et al, is overwhelming. Who in hell knows the financial backers. Tried researching it and the findings were quite vague. References to private equity investors. Mob, Wall Street, Casinos, ??????? Their ad buying is unrivaled and that doesn't come cheap. They are collecting credit card numbers and bank account access. Are they sharing info with the IRS? At least you get to pay a bookie cash and get an expectation of privacy.

The incessant promos are way beyond irritating.

 

[Cardsfanstl]

I looked into it just to maybe check it out and play for free (they advertise that) one week. they wanted a credit card or pay pal account and could not find the free games. So I left the site.

 

[EndZone]

The incessant promos are way beyond irritating.

Driving me crazy

 

[Chris_Sanders]

The saturation on TV/Radio/internet/et al, is overwhelming. Who in hell knows the financial backers. Tried researching it and the findings were quite vague. References to private equity investors. Mob, Wall Street, Casinos, ??????? Their ad buying is unrivaled and that doesn't come cheap. They are collecting credit card numbers and bank account access. Are they sharing info with the IRS? At least you get to pay a bookie cash and get an expectation of privacy.

The incessant promos are way beyond irritating.

They are taking a 5% rake on 10s of millions of dollars weekly. They don't need any financial backing.

It is ridiculous that I can gamble on player performance legally but not team performance.

 

[conraddobler]

It's basically a bit like money ball.

Players have a value and so it's like a stock portfolio only with players. So the idea is players real value would be inefficiently priced based on who they play next so the idea is to get as much production stats wise as you can within a limited budget for players.

Guys who are good at this have usually written or are using software that crunches as many factors as they can get a hold of searching for clues as to who may be a great value THIS game.

There was an HBO Real Sports segement on this and some really smart guys clean up on baseball doing this and because there are more games it pays them more.

The vast majority of players just donate to those guys.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Yep. I tried signing up for one last week and wouldn't allow me to. Even Yahoo has one similar to these 2 sites and I was denied there to as I live in Arizona.

Are other states denied?

 

[Iceman]

Are other states denied?

Yep. I know Iowa is one of them and I think like 4 more

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Yep. I know Iowa is one of them and I think like 4 more

Was just wondering, because most states now have Indian casinos now.

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

 

[splitsecond]

Arizona is denied because we have probably the strictest definition of gambling in the entire country. It's absurd. Anyone who put money on a bracket pool or a private fantasy league is technically breaking the law.

 

[Shane]

I put in 50.00 last year at the beginning and won a total of 668.00

Never put in another dime and cashed out at the end of the year with 275.00

It was fun to play weekly and I won some money…

I love it.. Only started with 25.00 this year and seeing if I can make it the whole year without depositing anymore like last year...