Pro sports leagues targeted in DFS lawsuit
Media and payment companies also added to class-action claiming they legitimized an illegal activity
Several professional US sports leagues and media companies have been dragged into the daily fantasy sports (DFS) melee after being added to a class-action lawsuit filed against FanDuel and DraftKings.
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The NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS, plus Turner Sports, NBC Sports Comcast Ventures and Fox Sports Interactive Media, were among 51 companies or individuals cited as either investing in or facilitating DFS games over the weekend.
The lawsuit was initially filed against FanDuel and DraftKings in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida last month, claiming the pair were operating illegal gambling sites.
But Saturdayâs update implicates the sports leagues and media companies â all of which had invested in or partnered with the DFS giants â for lending legitimacy to the activities.
The lawsuit, first reported on SportsIllustrated.com, claims the companies should have realised they were investing in something which was illegal under federal law.
Payment firms PayPal, Paysafe and Vantiv were also included in the 132-page complaint.
Sports betting is illegal in all but four US states and while season-long fantasy sports games are deemed legal, the daily version known as DFS has come under scrutiny with many judging it to be a gambling product.
âBy virtue of financing, promoting and endorsing (the DFS companiesâ) illegal internet gambling enterprise to grow and flourish and also provided credibility and legitimacy to the enterprise thereby attracting more unknowing players to participate as customers in the illegal gambling enterprise,â the complaint states.
Ervin Gonzalez, a partner at law firm Colson Hicks Eidson, told USA Today the companies were negligent in their vetting of the DFS companies.
âPeople are going to think, âWow, if MLB and NHL and NBA are behind this, how bad could it possibly be?â But the reality is that theyâre causing a lot of young men to become addicted to gambling using money that they should be using to promote their education or helping their families,â he said.
An emergency hearing over the legality of DFS in New York is set for this week after DraftKings and FanDuel saw their attempts to block potential legal action rejected by New York Attorney General (AG) Eric Schneiderman.
The operators submitted temporary restraining orders (TROs) to Judge Manuel Mendez at the New York Supreme Court last week, but will instead have to settle for an emergency hearing on 25 November to find out whether they can continue to operate in the state.
For full analysis of the New York ruling on the wider DFS industry, click here.