The Colorado Division of Gaming recently outlawed players versus house fantasy pick’em games with the most obvious example being pick’em prop parlay features being offered by DFS sites like PrizePicks.
Why the Fuss?
After the Colorado Division of Gaming issued new rules for sports betting, the Legislative Committee on Legal Services will vote on the future of pick’em daily fantasy sports and whether those games should be subject to Colorado sports betting rules and regulations.
The issue at hand is that daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites like PrizePicks offer a popular feature that virtually mirrors sports betting and that has caused issues not only in Colorado but in other states as well. The DFS pick’em game is essentially a player prop parlay that involves betting over or under a specific total set by the DFS site that could range from passing yards in football, to home runs in baseball, to rebounds in basketball, to name but a few of the many possibilities.
Drawing the Line
The DFS customer chooses two or more pick’em offerings, essentially forming a parlay, which has become the basis of a wildly popular pick’em feature at DFS sites. The gaming control regulators in many states believe this to be a sports betting offering, which would require a sports betting license, masquerading as a DFS game.
Unlike a typical DFS tournament where players play against each other and the house takes a commission on the total amount of money in the prize pool, a pick’em feature pits the customer against the house, exactly like a sportsbook. Regulators want to make a clear distinction between sports betting and DFS to keep both types of online gaming options separate and distinct as to what they can and cannot offer their customers.
PrizePicks Makes a Plea
PrizePicks is one of the major DFS sites to aggressively promote the pick’em games and now that their product is under siege, the company is making a plea to its customers to stand up for their right to gamble on pick’em style games and preserve PrizePicks’ right to offer them.
“Every day, PrizePicks users trust us to provide safe and fun daily fantasy offerings, and we owe it to our fans to keep them informed about regulations hindering our ability to do so. The upcoming Legal Services Committee meeting in Colorado is a critical juncture for the future of DFS in Colorado, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to protect it,” a PrizePicks spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“Our goal is to help the Colorado Division of Gaming understand how much people love DFS Pick’em contests, and our hope is that they’ll work collaboratively with us to craft thoughtful regulations that allow us and others to operate while protecting consumers from bad actors.”
Facing the Cease
Pick’em games have already been banned in Michigan while cease and desist orders have been given to DFS operators offering pick’em games in Florida.
A total of 10 other states have either banned or are contemplating banning DFS sites from offering pick’em games including:
