NY Attorney General Declares Daily Fantasy Sports Are Illegal

Popular sites like Draft Kings and Fan Duel are now illegal in New York State

ESPN Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell broke the news this evening that the New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman declared that daily fantasy sports are "gambling and illegal". Both FanDuel and Draft Kings have offices in New York State. FanDuel is headquartered in New York, having just opened a new 40,000 square foot office and while DraftKings is set up in Boston, it too also has a new 21,000 square foot satellite office in Manhattan. Both businesses have raised nearly 800 million from investors since the start of their operations but according to Rovell neither business has turned a profit. New York is not the first state to take against against daily fantasy sports. Other states that have declared daily fantasy sports illegal include Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Washington. In a statement, FanDuel said: “Fantasy sports is a game of skill and legal under New York state law. This is a politician telling hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers they are not allowed to play a game they love and share with friends, family, co-workers and players across the country.”