Help Save Fantasy Sports in the US – Sign the Petition

October 22, 2015 - by Tom Federico

In recent weeks a frenzy of media reporting has brought the online fantasy sports industry under increased scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers and government agencies.

In addition, entities with a vested interest in stunting the growth of the daily fantasy sports market — e.g. the state of Nevada — have taken aggressive action against it.

As is often the case, many of the media headlines have been sensationalized. Regardless, it’s water under the bridge at this point. Various federal and state authorities have announced their intent to investigate and clarify the legality of daily fantasy sports, and to decide whether the fantasy industry as a whole needs to be regulated more strictly.

What Does This Mean?

We don’t pretend to be legal experts, so in short, we have no idea. Given the rapid growth of daily fantasy sports sites, as well as their aggressive promotional strategies, it’s not a total shock that the industry is facing some further legal and/or regulatory vetting. It seemed bound to happen at some point, just like it does with many other innovative, boundary-pushing, wildly popular new products.

(If you’ve bought a drone recently, that’s a good example.)

If that time is now, so be it. Hopefully this all leads to a rational, honest, and well thought out discussion at the highest levels of government as to what exactly defines sports gambling, and whether fantasy sports for money falls into that category or not. And more importantly, whether it’s even worth making the distinction, versus explicitly legalizing and regulating the whole lot.

We’ll see what happens. There are powerful forces with deep pockets and political connections on both sides of the debate.

What’s At Stake Here?

Decisions likely to be made in the upcoming months by state and/or federal lawmakers could have a major impact on your ability to play fantasy sports online in the future. Furthermore, what gets decided now may not necessarily be limited to the “daily games for money” segment of the fantasy industry.

The FSTA, the trade association that represents the entire fantasy sports supplier ecosystem (including both season-long and daily sites), is clearly concerned about the current situation, and has recently intensified its lobbying efforts. But the more grass roots support they get, the better.

Take 20 Seconds To Help Save Fantasy Sports

If you’re passionate about fantasy sports and want to protect your right to keep playing, there is one quick and easy way to make your voice heard.

Our partner FanDuel has put together a simple online petition to unite the voices of fantasy players nationwide, to help U.S. lawmakers understand just how many of their constituents want to keep playing fantasy sports of all types.

If you’re so inclined, we’d appreciate it if you added your name to the list: