Court keeps fantasy sports open amid NY appeal

Daily fantasy sports websites FanDuel and DraftKings can stay open while courts in New York determine whether they constitute illegal gambling, a panel of appellate judges reportedly said on Monday.

The ruling ends a skirmish in a larger battle between the services and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In December, a judge said the websites needed to stop taking bets from New Yorkers until the conclusion of the case. An appeals judge reversed that ruling, and Monday’s decision cements it, Bloomberg reported.

{mosads}“We are pleased with the Court’s ruling today,” DraftKings lawyer David Boies said in a statement. “Daily Fantasy Sports contests are as legal now as they have been for the past seven years that New Yorkers have been playing them.”

The websites are two of the more popular daily fantasy offerings, which allow their users to craft virtual teams of real-life players and win cash prizes if the players do well.

Schneiderman alleges in a lawsuit that the companies offer what amounts to illegal gambling under state law. The websites argue they offer games of skill, not chance, and therefore don’t run afoul of the law.

The industry has boomed in recent years and drawn the attention not only of state attorneys general but of lawmakers as well.

In Washington, House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has called for hearings into the industry and its ties to professional sports leagues, some of which have moved to block gambling in his home state. Though Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) has indicated that the industry is likely something the committee will examine, he has yet to set a date for when a hearing might occur.