New York daily fantasy sports legislation faces constitutional challenge

New York’s daily fantasy sports (DFS) legislation has been challenged in court by an anti-online gambling group.

On Wednesday, the Stop Predatory Gambling (SPG) advocacy group announced the filing of a constitutional challenge of the DFS legislation New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law in August. The challenge was filed by law firm O’Connell and Aronowitz on behalf of four female state residents who claim to have been directly affected by problem gambling issues.

The lawsuit alleges that DFS isn’t allowed under New York’s constitution, and amending New York’s constitution requires favorable votes by two “separately-elected” legislatures, followed by a statewide referendum. This process was followed when New York authorized new commercial casino operations in 2013 but the DFS bill was approved by a single legislature.

The SPG lawsuit also takes issue with the legislation labeling DFS a game of skill rather than an illegal game of chance prohibited by the state constitution. The constitution contains specific exemptions for those new casinos, the state lottery, pari-mutuel wagering and various charitable gaming endeavors, but not for DFS.