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A daily fantasy sports scandal widely regarded as potential insider trading has shocked the national sports scene into a discourse over customer safety and fairness in the fledgling industry.
The controversy was hardly surprising enough to elicit a raised eyebrow from anyone involved with sports books in Las Vegas. DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest daily fantasy sports operators, are facing the exact type of situation that casino executives portended over the last few years since the websites’ meteoric rise without the buffer of government regulation.
William Hill US CEO Joe Asher, an outspoken advocate of regulation in the fantasy realm, declined comment on the insider-trading allegations but could have easily sneered, “Told you so.” Instead, he reaffirmed a position vocalized by representatives from the gaming industry at last week’s Global Gaming Expo.
“I favor legalization of sports betting in all forms whether that’s traditional sports betting or daily fantasy,” Asher said. “The idea that daily fantasy should sit out there in this unregulated zone is ludicrous. It’s sports betting and should be understood and regulated as such.”
That distinction surely would have prevented the black eye daily fantasy sports suffered last week when a DraftKings employee accidentally posted players’ ownership data before kickoff of the week 3 games. The information may have helped the employee go on to win $350,000 by finishing second out of 229,885 entrants in a FanDuel competition.
DraftKings and FanDuel have since banded together to temporarily ban their employees from competing on each other’s sites and ensured players they are committed to the integrity of their contests. It’s not a reassuring promise without any external oversight or concrete public knowledge on who can access the sites’ valuable information.
No one is looking out for the hundreds of thousands of players, not like when gamblers place wagers in local sports books. The Nevada Gaming Control Board rigorously oversees the industry, helping to protect bettors.
There’s a common perception that casinos rail against daily fantasy because the games are seen as competition, which Asher describes as inaccurate.
“We don’t view DFS as a competitive threat,” he said. “Our handle this NFL season compared to last year is up double digits, and that was up double digits compared to the year before. It’s not like it’s stopping people from coming to bet. It’s just a matter of what’s in the customers’ best interest, and that’s gambling being legal, regulated and taxed.”
The only reason fantasy isn’t considered gambling is because of loopholes in infamously flawed legislation like the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
That’s not to assert sports betting and daily fantasy offer identical products or appeal to the same audiences.
They aren’t even close. Gambling casts as large of an umbrella as, say, the restaurant industry.
No one is going to patronize the pizza joint in a strip mall on a night they’re craving the steakhouse next door, but they can be confident in knowing local and county health departments licensed both establishments.
Sports bettors in Nevada can rest easy in at least having the awareness what odds they’re up against. It’s a shame fantasy sports players aren’t extended the same basic right.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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