Research Paper From the backyard betting between friends to a multi-billion dollar a year industry daily fantasy sports has exploded over the past decade. In response to this lawmakers have been falling over themselves to try and put a leash on this industry. However, this is not just a money hungry industry, this is a game that many people love to play and enjoy. Many people don’t even know what daily fantasy sports are or how to play them. Some would be shocked about how much money goes into this innocent looking game. Millions of people enjoy playing fantasy sports not just for the money but for fun and to be closer to the game. Lawmakers are having trouble deciding if daily fantasy sports constitute as gambling, or if they are just
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Surprising it is not the lifelong sports fans, but rather mathematicians and statisticians. It came as a shock when I learned the industry’s biggest winners are those who have developed their own computer systems. That analyzes and tracks up to date player statistics to give them the best team possible. In fact, 91 percent of all profits went to the top 1.3 percent of players, with 85 percent of all players being losers (Ed Miller and Daniel Singer). With such a small percentage of players winning it does reinforce the idea that daily fantasy sports could be a game of skill, but it doesn’t protect those who don’t know how stacked the odds are. One of the people stacking those odds is Corey Albertson who founded the company SalCaps Fantasy Sports. A company that treats daily fantasy sports like the stock market. His LinkedIn profile claims that his company, “Invests over $10 million annually into one-day fantasy sports contests with a sustained return-on-investment rate in excess of 12%” (Albertson). With some much money involved it does leave a lot of people wondering how this game does not constitute as …show more content…
On one hand, you are not betting on any specific players or games, but rather a culmination of many events, thus, arguably a skill based game. However, on the other hand, you are wagering you money against odds and other people in order to win more money, which by definition is gambling. So, how have fantasy sports sites been allowed to function for so long under what could arguably be called gambling? The answer comes from a legal loophole in the 2006 Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act. The UIGEA bans any forms online gambling; however, the bill did include an amendment for skills based games. FanDuels states that “‘Fantasy sports is considered a game of skill and received a specific exemption from the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. FanDuel uses exactly the same rules as any other season-long fantasy sports format, the only difference is that our games last only one day or one week” (Rose). It can still be easily argued that it is plain and simple gambling. George Will of the Washinton post said, “Players in fantasy sports assemble make-believe teams from actual athletes… and the teams succeed or fail based on the players' achievements on a given day. This is obviously gambling: Players risk money wagering on variables… beyond the players' control. It is, however, gambling leavened by skill: Players can improve their odds by acquiring advantageous information by
Surprising it is not the lifelong sports fans, but rather mathematicians and statisticians. It came as a shock when I learned the industry’s biggest winners are those who have developed their own computer systems. That analyzes and tracks up to date player statistics to give them the best team possible. In fact, 91 percent of all profits went to the top 1.3 percent of players, with 85 percent of all players being losers (Ed Miller and Daniel Singer). With such a small percentage of players winning it does reinforce the idea that daily fantasy sports could be a game of skill, but it doesn’t protect those who don’t know how stacked the odds are. One of the people stacking those odds is Corey Albertson who founded the company SalCaps Fantasy Sports. A company that treats daily fantasy sports like the stock market. His LinkedIn profile claims that his company, “Invests over $10 million annually into one-day fantasy sports contests with a sustained return-on-investment rate in excess of 12%” (Albertson). With some much money involved it does leave a lot of people wondering how this game does not constitute as …show more content…
On one hand, you are not betting on any specific players or games, but rather a culmination of many events, thus, arguably a skill based game. However, on the other hand, you are wagering you money against odds and other people in order to win more money, which by definition is gambling. So, how have fantasy sports sites been allowed to function for so long under what could arguably be called gambling? The answer comes from a legal loophole in the 2006 Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act. The UIGEA bans any forms online gambling; however, the bill did include an amendment for skills based games. FanDuels states that “‘Fantasy sports is considered a game of skill and received a specific exemption from the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. FanDuel uses exactly the same rules as any other season-long fantasy sports format, the only difference is that our games last only one day or one week” (Rose). It can still be easily argued that it is plain and simple gambling. George Will of the Washinton post said, “Players in fantasy sports assemble make-believe teams from actual athletes… and the teams succeed or fail based on the players' achievements on a given day. This is obviously gambling: Players risk money wagering on variables… beyond the players' control. It is, however, gambling leavened by skill: Players can improve their odds by acquiring advantageous information by