Daily fantasy sports (DFS) leaders DraftKings and FanDuel have withdrawn from another state, as Idaho’s Attorney General Lawrence Wasden declared DFS illegal. He is the 11th state Attorney General to decide that DFS constitutes illegal gambling. The two fantasy sites were to be gone from the state as of Sunday, May 1st.
In a press release, Wasden explained why he told DraftKings and FanDuel to get out, saying, “The concern I have is that the paid daily sports offerings provided by these companies constitute gambling under Idaho law. I have a duty to enforce and uphold that law. I commend the companies for negotiating in good faith and agreeing not to make these contests available in Idaho.”
Wasden began looking into the legality of daily fantasy sports in January and like most of the AG’s so far, he reasonably concluded that DFS runs afoul of his state’s gaming laws. Idaho does allow some betting – the state lottery, pari-mutuel betting, and bingo and raffle games – but DFS is not exempted from an overall gambling prohibition.
Wasden went on to briefly detail why DFS is illegal gambling:
Idaho defines gambling, in part, as risking money or other thing of value for gain that is contingent in whole or part upon chance or the outcome of an event, including a sporting event. My concern is that the daily fantasy sports offerings my office reviewed require participants to risk money for a cash prize contingent upon individual athletes’ collective performances in various future sporting events. As I see it, this falls within Idaho’s definition of gambling.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel are still allowed to offer free daily fantasy games in Idaho, even ones that offer prizes to players, but paid contests are a no-go.
Fortunately for DFS fans, Wasden did not say he was against fantasy sports; it was simply his job to enforce the current law. In the press release, his office said that DraftKings and FanDuel could offer paid fantasy contests once again if one of two things happens: 1) the Idaho legislature changes the law to permit paid DFS games, or b) a court “with authority and jurisdiction in Idaho” determines that DFS is actually legal.
One would guess that the DFS sites won’t bother trying to go to court over this, as Idaho is a small market. Other states have quickly passed DFS legalization bills, so it would not be shocking if Idaho did the same, but that would all depend on whether or not any of the state’s lawmakers feel strongly enough about the subject to draw up legislation.
If daily fantasy sports become legal in Idaho, DraftKings and FanDuel have agreed to give the Attorney General’s office 30 days written notice of their intentions to re-launch paid fantasy games.
“The notice serves to give the Attorney General time to evaluate the proposed contests to determine whether they comply with Idaho law,” the press release states.