DraftKings and FanDuel Cases Centralized in Massachusetts

With all the new lawsuits being brought against Daily Fantasy Sports (DSF) providers FanDuel and DraftKings, it is hard to keep up with who is getting sued and why.  It seems that almost every week, we hear about a new lawsuit against one of the DFS companies being brought up in a different state for different reasons.  Now that eighty cases have been filed, it has been up to prosecution and defense teams to decide where these cases were to be litigated. To save time, effort, and tax dollars, the panel decided it would be best to centralize all lawsuits into Massachusetts Federal Court.   Some other locations that committee considered besides Massachusetts include New York, Illinois, and Florida.
According to an article by Law360,  there has been 80 pending cases that have either been included in motions for consolidation  or identified as related actions.  Of these 80 cases, 42 of them allege insider trading, 36 involve alleged illegal gambling, and 8 of them allege bonus fraud. For those who are a little unfamiliar with the definitions of these legal terms, here's a quick review:

-Illegal Trading is defined as the buying or selling of a security by someone who has access to material, nonpublic information about the security.

-Illegal Gambling is a term to describe any illegal forms of gambling.  These "illegal gambling" laws are different in each state with different definitions of what is legal and illegal and how it will be punished.

-Bonus Fraud are being filed over allegedly misleading promotional programs, which these claims are only being brought against DraftKings.

Although the panel has finally decided where it will begin these lawsuits, there is till no indication of when actual litigation, if any, will occur.  That being said, these lawsuits are in the very beginning stages of the legal process and shouldn't expect to hear any settlements for months or even years.  It will be interesting to see what cases and potential claims will hold in court, if any, and to see how this all plays out.  So those of you still thinking they might want to file a lawsuit or join one of the lawsuits against DraftKings or FanDuel, now is the time!

Is this the end of Daily Fantasy Sports?

With the current lawsuit still going on in New York on whether daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites like FanDuel and DraftKings are a form of "illegal gambling" or a game of skill, other states have started to bring this same issue to their courts.  These states include Texas, California, Florida, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana. With over 50 millions players of daily fantasy sports in the United States, the legality of DFS has become a national issue.  That's why some DFS players decided it was time to protect their right to play fantasy sports and joined the organization Fantasy Sports For All.

Fantasy Sports For All is an organization that is "committed to protecting the rights of all Americans who play fantasy sports".  They are backed by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which was established in 1999.  Fantasy Sports For All and their followers are dedicated to "support any effort to fairly and reasonably regulate fantasy sports, and will oppose all measures that unjustly prevent law-abiding Americans from participating in the games they love".  They are a growing organization and to combat the recent allegations about the legality of DFS, they have portals on their website that allows you to contact via email the Attorney General from the states above to show support for daily fantasy sports.  Although one email may not change an Attorney General's mind about DFS, the constant flow of emails may be enough to keep daily fantasy sports legal in the United States.  So all of you reading this article in a state where DFS may become illegal, I recommend you join Fantasy Sports For All and write to your state's Attorney General today before it's too late!