Two largest fantasy sport sites FanDuel and Draft Kings will stop running their paid contests in New York. They made agreement to wait for New York legislature to issue the bill that regulate their fantasy sport games.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been arguing for months that both sites are based on chances and illegal under state law. However FanDuel and Draft Kings insisted that their contests require participants' skill.
Schneiderman regards that wagering real money, like what participants in FanDuel and Draft Kings do, is an illegal online gambling. Up to now, Virginia is the only state that recognize the daily fantasy sports sites as a game of skills, while Nevada banned the site since last October. Both FanDuel and Draft Kings hopes New York will issue the bill to regulate their game, therefore they agreed to stop their service in New York.
In a statement quoted by CNBC Schneiderman said, "As I've said from the start, my job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it. Today's agreement also creates an expedited path to resolve this litigation should that law change or upon a decision by the appellate division."
The agreement was made between the state of New York and the two fantasy games to stop paid contests. FanDuel and Draft will also delay appeal until September. The claims of gambling from state of New York will end, if state lawmakers pass legislation that explicitly allow and regulate the daily fantasy sports.
In regards to the agreement, Draft King said in a statement as quoted by The Verge, "We are an industry leader in technology, innovation and consumer protections, and we are grateful to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have enjoyed playing fantasy sports on DraftKings for the last four years." Draft Kings explained its position to stand down.
"We will continue to work with state lawmakers to enact fantasy sports legislation so that New Yorkers can play the fantasy games they love."
Meanwhile FanDuel, whose headquartered is located in New York committed to comply to the agreement. New York Times reported FanDuel said in a statement, "We are proud to be one of New York's largest startup companies, and while it is disheartening for us to restrict access to paid contests in our home state, we believe this is in the best interest of our company, the fantasy industry and our players while we continue to pursue legal clarity in New York."
Fantasy sport games FanDuel and Draft Kings agree to stop their paid contests in New York. The companies will wait for state legislature to regulate their fantasy sports operation.
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