The Truth About Daily Fantasy Sports (According To Fantasy Sports Legal Consultant)

Are daily fantasy leagues legal? Why are they so popular all of a sudden? Can you really win? Find out now!

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Complex Original

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By this point we, the sports-viewing public, have been beaten into submission. Months of non-stop concussive blows to the head with DraftKings and FanDuel advertising have left us battered and confused. Why so much so quickly? Why is this stuff even legal? What's this about insider trading? Can I really become a champagne-soaked millionaire big check recipient??

So many questions, so much controversy, yet still there are few signs the advertising onslaught will let up. Amidst the recent allegations of a DraftKings employee using company data to win big on rival daily fantasy sites, ESPN earlier this week vowed to scale back DraftKings-sponsored content from its shows. DraftKings even went as far as to pull it's commercials from The Worldwide Leader—at least for the time being. But just as one monkey doesn't stop the show, one network's shaky ground with DraftKings won't stop the daily fantasy behemoth. According to Fox Business, DraftKings is now valued at $1.2 billion and FanDuel a close second at $1 billion. The companies also likely combined to spend over $150 million on TV and internet advertising in one quarter!

And the scandal? Well, according to Bloomberg, both companies just managed to have their biggest weekend ever. So much for controversy.

So even as the lines between gambling and daily fantasy continue to blur, and even as they fight off congressional hearings and inquires from state attorney generals, both services continue to enjoy support from professional sports leagues and teams, support from major networks, and millions of dollars in revenue.

We wanted to know how all of this could happen.

So we reached out to Marc Edelman, an Associate Professor of Law at Baruch College Zicklin School of Business, who consults extensively on legal issues in the fantasy sports marketplace. Professor Edelman broke down for us the basics on why this is legal, how these companies grow so quickly, and if we're looking at a future "DraftDuel" merger.

Why Are Daily Fantasy Sports Legal?

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How Has It Grown So Quickly?

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Do I Really Have a Chance of Winning?

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Will We Ever See a "DraftDuel" Merger?

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Where Do We Go From Here?

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