DraftKings, FanDuel could face first significant legal challenge after hearing request [View all]

[oberliner]

A ranking member of the Energy and Commerce requested a hearing about the relationship of fantasy sports to gambling, potentially the initial step in what is believed to be the first direct legal challenge to the exploding daily fantasy sports industry.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) requested the hearing in the governing body that oversees professional sports and gambling Monday afternoon. He wants to scrutinize the difference in gambling on sports and playing fantasy and to examine the close ties between sports leagues and teams and the fantasy industry, including daily fantasy titans DraftKings and FanDuel.

DraftKings and FanDuel have received hundreds of millions in venture capital, money the daily fantasy sites used to purchase advertisements. Viewers this weekend were pummeled by commercials for the sites, which in part promoted Pallone’s request for a hearing.

“Anyone who watched a game this weekend was inundated by commercials for fantasy sports Web sites, and it’s only the first week of the NFL season,” Pallone said in a statement. “These sites are enormously popular, arguably central to the fans’ experience, and professional leagues are seeing the enormous profits as a result. Despite how mainstream these sites have become, though, the legal landscape governing these activities remains murky and should be reviewed.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/09/14/draftkings-fanduel-could-face-first-significant-legal-challenge-after-hearing-request/

Sure seems like gambling to me.