New York Attorney General says DFS is gambling, operators must cease & desist

New York’s attorney general has ordered daily fantasy sports operators to stop doing business in the state after concluding that they are illegal gambling businesses.

New York AG Eric Schneiderman (pictured) announced last month that he had opened an inquiry into the data leak scandal at DFS operator DraftKings that kicked off the current DFS regulatory panic. On Tuesday, Schneiderman sent both DraftKings and rival FanDuel cease and desist orders on the grounds that they are violating the state’s gambling laws.

The New York Times quoted Schneiderman saying DraftKings and FanDuel were “the leaders of a massive, multibillion-dollar scheme intended to evade the law and fleece sports fans across the country. Today we have sent a clear message: not in New York, and not on my watch.”

New York gambling laws prohibit any contest in which the outcome is dependent to a “material degree” on the element of chance, a fairly low standard. Schneiderman said his investigation had determined that DFS players were “clearly placing bets on events outside their control of influence, specifically on the real game performance of professional athletes.”