Do Paid Fantasy Sports Leagues Violate Gambling Laws?
from the taking-the-fun-out dept
Perhaps online fantasy sports service providers have more to worry about than whether or not sports leagues can claim a copyright on player names and stats. Tech Law Advisor points to a new lawsuit filed by a lawyer who focuses on gambling laws. The lawyer claims that many paid online fantasy sports leagues violate state gambling laws. The actual filing is an interesting read (though it's still not entirely clear why he's filing this case) -- especially since much of the case seems to hinge on whether or not fantasy sports are "games of chance." This is the same argument that poker players have used to say that poker isn't covered by gambling laws (something the current administration claims is untrue, and lawmakers are working on clarifying). However, many fantasy sports players would likely claim that it's not a game of chance, but actually involves some element of skill, mixed with some element of luck. Just as in poker, you still need to play with the hand you're dealt. However, page after page of the complaint focuses on showing why fantasy sports really are a game of chance, including the fact that the players' and teams' interests often aren't aligned with the fantasy sports players', and that players might get injured or suspended. Either way, we haven't heard many stories of Gamblers' Anonymous meetings being overloaded with fantasy sports addicts.
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First online poker, now fantasy football
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Re: First online poker, now fantasy football
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Re: Re: First online poker, now fantasy football
Vous êtes l'arbre de yer de outta. LE CANADA ? !?! Si j'ai transféré au Canada, je devrais tout poster j'ai dit dans l'anglais et français. Parler de vos conditions bilingues dures !
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Re: Re: Re: First online poker, now fantasy footba
Desoler, vous ne serai pas accepter par le Canada, votre francais n'est pas asser bon. :)
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Enough Already
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But seriously I kinda have to agree with the notion that PAID fantasy sports are gambling. In poker you don't just pick some cards and wait to see what happens. Even though you have no control over the hand you are deal you still have to play them correctly to win. Throw in bluffing and you have the chance of the person with the worst cards at the table winning the hand. In fantasy sports all you have to do is pick the right athletes then tune in to your source of sports news to see if you won.
And for the record: Lotteries, raffles, and drawings that you have to pay to enter = Legalized gambling.
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The notion that you just pick players and sit back and watch the news to see if you won is asinine. Anyone who has done that has never won a fantasy league and probably will rarely win a game. A lot of fantasy players scout players and teams, change rosters, change starting lineups, and offer and except trades.
In some extreme ways (as mentioned earlier) fantasy sports can be considered gambling, but when money is involved poker is always gambling.
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Re: Mighty poor player
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Who the hell pays $499
This is exactly the sort of litigation that jams the courts up, preventing worthwhile agendas from being completed.
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Hypocrits
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Too much time on our hands
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Fantasy football on the other hand is different, because the players actually pick the players also.
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How about.....
Just like television, you don't like what you see then don't wacth it!!!
I'm tired of people like this lawyer trying to tell me what I can or cannot do....
It's my money and if I want to go broke losing it all, that's my choice!
I understand the government wanting to regulate it, hell it would be even a good source of tax revenue.
I have a friend that plays poker online for a living. Now he maybe one of the few who do, but he did claim all his winnings last year and paid in over 6K in taxes!
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Lawyers just have too much time!
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Re: How about.....
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Re: Fantasy sports
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Then all real sports are gambling, too. Can NASCAR drivers affect what happens in front of them? No, there is an element of luck in everything....even business. Can grocery stores not sell milk, because somebody might get in an accident on the way to the store (luck is involved)?
A person has NO control over the outcome of a slot machine. It's purely a game of chance. Equating that with fantasy sports, or even poker (there's a reason the same players are on TV every week) is really, really stupid.
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When is the last time a longtime pro won the World Series of Poker?
Course, what Poker has to do with Fantasy Sports, I don't know.
Dan Harrington said on ESPN when asked about his chances of winning going into the final table (filled with WSOP first timers) "I have 13% of the chips, you say I am the best player at the table, so that raises my odds up to 17%.
Seems like gambling to me when the best vs. the worst only have a 4% advantage. Course, thats more than the house gets in games of chance.
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What I mean is that in poker you have no control over what cards you therefore a large part (but not all since you still have to properly play what you get) of the game is chance.
In fantasy sports you may scout, trade, and mix up your lineup but ultimately you control who you have on the "field" on game day. You have a lot more control over wheather or not you win the game or not. And by "pick players and sit back to wait for the news" thats just what you do. No matter how strategic you are about it thats just what you are doing.
To me the notion of chance is a big part of the definition of gambling. I just think there is more chance in poker than fantasy sports.
Now I see where I messed up my post. When I said paid fantasy sports I meant the ones in which you can win more than bragging rights Mondy morning at the water cooler, not the ones that just charge you to use their site, service, etc.
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self improvment
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Over many tens of thousands of hands, each player gets nearly the same amount of good and bad cards and the nearly the same amount of good and bad luck. The skill in the game is derived from the wagering strategies, not the cards.
As the old saying goes, over the short term poker is nearly 100% luck; over the long term it is (nearly) 100% skill.
I also participate in a baseball fantasy league and I can tell you that the best "owners" consistently win. They have superior knowledge and are able to overcome bad luck (i.e injuries or surprise trades out of the league) better than others. But there is no guarantee that the very best "owner" will win every year.
Both of these things are mixes of chance and skill, depending on the timeframe we are talking about.
Chess is a game of (more or less) pure skill; lotteries are pure chance. Most non-athletic games are in between.
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fantasy football
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fantasy sports
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Do Paid Fantasy Sports Leagues Violate Gambling Laws?
Fees for Fantasy Sports are NOT Bets or Wagers.
The Unlawful Internet Enforcement Act of 2006 passed in September included a carve-out for fantasy sports WITH an official definition of guidelines for prizes and rules.
If you do as the rules say you can charge for fantasy sports.
But be careful some states don't allow fantasy sports.
Glenn
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Fantasy sports
So Fantasy sports is not going any place. I have also found a new fantasy site that is easy to play and fun.
www.worldfantasysportsleague.com
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The way our website works is you sign up for free and get 10k of fantasy money each week. The object is to bet on sports with this fantasy money and accumulate as much fantasy money as possible. The person who is most profitable for each day, week, and grand prize period wins the REAL CASH PRIZE for that period. Betagainstme.com
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If you're into gmabling, try betting on stock market moneylines
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