Showing posts with label Fantasy Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Sports. Show all posts

2016-05-13

Daily Fantasy Sports, Online Gambling, US Congressional Hearing Video



U.S. Congressional Subcommittee Hearing: Daily Fantasy Sports: Issues and Perspectives, May 11, 2016, 2123 Rayburn Bldg., Washington, D.C.

Witnesses:

Mr. Steve Brubaker
Executive Director, Small Business of Fantasy Sports Trade Association
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Kurt Eggert
Professor of Law, Chapman University Fowler School of Law
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Jordan Gnat
SVP, Strategic Business Development, Scientific Games
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Mark Locke
Chief Executive Officer, Genius Sports Group
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. John M. McManus
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, MGM Resorts International
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Dr. Ryan Rodenberg
Assistant Professor, Florida State University, Department of Sport Management
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Peter Schoenke
President, RotoWire, on behalf of Fantasy Sports Trade Association
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Ms. Lindsay Slader
Operations Manager, GeoComply
Witness Statement
Truth in Testimony and CV

Documents
Background Memo
Opening Statement - Full Committee Chairman Upton
Opening Statement - CMT Subcommittee Chairman Burgess

Examples of Daily Fantasy Sports companies: draftkings.com & fanduel.com

#SubCMT Wraps Hearing on Daily Fantasy Sports | Energy and Commerce Committee May 11, 2016 (Press Release): Hearing Underscores Importance of Protecting Consumers and Encouraging Innovation WASHINGTON, DC – The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), today held a hearing entitled, “Daily Fantasy Sports: Issues and Perspectives.” Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) previewed the hearing in an op-ed published by The Hill this morning, writing, “Millions of Americans are playing daily fantasy sports, which means that millions of families could be affected. Players deserve to know that the DFS industry operates fairly and transparently, and that states taking different and rushed approaches are not harming the overall consumer experience.” 

The hearing brought together industry representatives, the legal and academic communities, and experts in gaming technologies to assess the rapidly changing landscape of daily fantasy sports. Members examined whether consumer protection concerns would require action beyond the state level, and pressed industry representatives to detail processes in place to preserve the integrity of online games.

Peter Schoenke, Chairman of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, testified: “We stand ready to work with the FTC and with this subcommittee in moving forward to ensure the fairness and transparency of paid daily fantasy sports as well as season-long fantasy sports and to ensure that we maintain the trust and confidence of fans that choose to play fantasy sports. We also hope that, in doing so, we preserve the ability of states to regulate this activity and that they do so without killing the innovative spirit and new and exciting choices for millions of fans who enjoy fantasy sports.”

Chairman Burgess expressed the importance of consumer protection and the need to better understand how states roles could impact interstate commerce. “Consumer protection is a critical component of this conversation. Not only should consumers have a clear understanding of the rules and risks for a particular contest, but the integrity of the game depends on consumers getting what they paid for,” said Burgess. “From the states that have required the daily fantasy sites to meet online gambling requirements, to the states that have passed legislation explicitly legalizing fantasy games—it is critical to understand the role of the states and what impact their actions have on interstate commerce.”

Upton added, “States all across the country are looking at these issues, which will help inform whether a federal role is warranted. In Michigan, for instance, there is a bill pending in the legislature to expressly legalize daily fantasy sports. But we must keep in mind that a patchwork of differing and contradictory state laws has the potential to negatively impact consumers, and harm further growth and innovation in the process.”" (emphasis added)

#DFS #subCMT



DISCLAIMER

2015-10-21

Will FBI Probe Mean Game Over for Fantasy Sports, Fantasy Football?



Will FBI Probe Mean Game Over for Fantasy Sports? (video above): Seth Berenzweig, managing partner at Berenzweig Leonard (berenzweiglaw.com), and Bloomberg's Joshua Brustein discuss probes of online fantasy sports leagues by the FBI and U.S. Justice Department and the extent of charges potentially faced by operators of online fantasy sports sites. They speak on "Bloomberg Markets," on October 15, 2015.
"Online fantasy sports are a multi-billion dollar industry, and fantasy NFL football is by far the most popular fantasy sport." -- Yahoo Finance
Below: Google Trends - Interest over time, search word trend, worldwide, 2015 (this same trend occurs every year with Fantasy football peaking every year in late August-early September:
fantasy sports=blue line;   fantasy football=red line 


See also on Domain Mondo
See also: 



DISCLAIMER

ICANN 54, Dublin (Oct 18-22), schedule links, info, and twitter feeds here

2015-07-14

Yahoo, Fan Duel, Draft Kings: Fantasy Sports, Daily, Weekly Contests



Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) Rolls Out New Fantasy-Sports Feature: Daily, Weekly Contests - Bloomberg’s Emily Chang reports on the number of fantasy-sports players across the U.S. and Canada in “BWest Byte” on “Bloomberg West,” July 9th. (Source: Bloomberg)

Money quote"Betting on sports is illegal outside of Las Vegas but Fantasy Sports 'get a pass' because Pro Leagues consider it a 'game of skill'"--Emily Chang, Bloomberg

Daily and weekly contests comprise the fastest growing area of Fantasy Sports. "Links between daily fantasy sports and more traditional forms of wagering are strong. Many members of FanDuel’s executive team used to work in online gambling. (Eccles worked for the UK’s Betfair.) DraftKings is one of the main sponsors of the World Series of Poker, the planet’s largest land-based poker tournament." (source: Quartz, infra)

The bizarre, multibillion-dollar industry of American fantasy sports - Quartz" ... ESPN, Yahoo, CBS Sports, and the NFL itself, among others, have all built technological platforms for the tasks a fantasy football league requires, such as allocating players fairly among participants, awarding points based on statistical performance, and processing trades of players. The investment in technology is considerable, but for most of the big companies involved, there is a strong business case. ESPN’s head of fantasy sports, George Leimer, says that during the football season, fantasy participants drive 17% of traffic to the company’s websites, which average around 90 million unique visitors each month ... Fantasy players are considered the most engaged fans of the NFL ... Walt Disney (owner of ESPN), which also operates theme parks, has long distanced itself from anything remotely associated with gambling. That could mean it is a two-horse race between FanDuel [which secured $70 million from investors including NBC Sports Ventures, private-equity fund KKR, and the National Basketball Association] and DraftKings for control of the fast-growing short-term market..." (emphasis added)

Fan Duel, Draft Kings, and now Yahoo! According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, more than 30 million Americans participate in fantasy football leagues, and spent an estimated $11 billion on the activity last year.

Domain names of companies referenced:
Yahoo: yahoo.com and Yahoo Fantasy Sports: sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/
Draft Kings: draftkings.com
Fan Duel: fanduel.com
ESPN: espn.com and games.espn.go.com/frontpage/
CBS Sports: cbssports.com and cbssports.com/fantasy
NFL: nfl.com and fantasy.nfl.com
Fantasy Sports Trade Association: fsta.org

Why Fantasy Sports is NOT Gambling - Fantasy Sports Trade Association: "... The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 included "carve out" language that clarified the legality of fantasy sports. It was passed by Congress and signed into law on October 13, 2006 by President George W. Bush. The act makes transactions from banks or similar institutions to online gambling sites illegal, with the notable exceptions of fantasy sports, online lotteries and horse/harness racing. The bill specifically exempts fantasy sports games, educational games or any online contest that "has an outcome that reflects the relative knowledge of the participants, or their skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance), and, in the case of a fantasy or simulation sports game, has an outcome that is determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events, including any non-participant's individual performances in such sporting events..."


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