Fantasy Golf: A Hole in One
The Masters golf tournament had quite an exciting finish this year and it also was a successful tournament for Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators. As reported by Dustin Gouker: “The Masters marked the unofficial start to the daily fantasy golf season at DraftKings… the metrics for Masters contests were impressive.” Such popularity inevitably leads to…
Read MoreNevermind About Internet Cafes…
Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis got some good news this week: State prosecutors have decided not to retry him on more than one hundred charges for gambling-related offenses. The State brought the charges against Mathis and fifty-six co-defendants in 2011, following a state-wide investigation of “internet cafes”—businesses that sell internet time to customers, who, with their…
Read MoreIs it a Lottery or is it Gambling? UK Regulator Slaps Lottoland for Misleading Radio Ad
Gambling, including online gaming, lotteries, and land-based gaming, has tremendous participation in the United Kingdom. One study concluded that 75% of the UK’s adult population gambled in some manner. UK regulators take an aggressive approach to licensing, supervision, and enforcement of gambling laws and regulations, including gaming-related advertising. As more U.S. states permit online gaming,…
Read MoreSkin Gambling Plaintiffs Find Themselves Back Where They Started
The lawsuits against Valve Corporation are continuing their tortured procedural paths from various federal courts to state court and back again. After filing a complaint against Valve and several co-defendants in federal court, the case was ultimately dismissed. Not dissuaded, the plaintiffs refiled against Valve in state court, in King County, Washington. Yet, as of…
Read MoreCoalition Building to Combat Unlicensed Internet Gaming Sites
The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) regulates various licensees that provide services to the online gaming industry within the state. The agency recently demonstrated its power of regulatory enforcement over the online gaming industry and its unique ability to protect consumers with its recent discovery that a licensee may have provided US residents with access…
Read MoreShutting the Valve on Skin Betting
A tried and true military strategy is to cut off your enemy’s supply lines: blow up a bridge and force a retreat. The tactic works in other situations too. It is regularly used by legislators and government agencies to address what they view as problem behavior from a particular industry. Instead of targeting the industry,…
Read MoreAn Esports Slam Dunk: What the NBA’s Investment in Esports Means
On September 26, 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had acquired two leading eSports teams, Team Dignitas and Team Apex. Not to be outdone, the next day Team Liquid announced they had sold a controlling share to Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and entrepreneur Ted Leonsis, who is the majority owner of the…
Read MoreA Bank is a Bank
Do you remember when I wrote about how a federal district court had ruled that an online poker account was akin to a bank account and should therefore be subject to FBAR reporting? It seemed nonsense to me at the time—and I also worried about whether the court’s expanded definition of a “financial institution” would…
Read MorePokémon Go Craze: Battle, Train, Win – But No Betting
We are living in a virtual (or perhaps “augmented”) Pokémon explosion. You can’t get away from news of public craze over Pokémon Go. Players young and youngish have made the game today’s most popular app, outpacing Twitter and Tinder download rates. In less than ten days from its release, estimates are that almost 26 million…
Read MoreNew Concerns Over Esports Betting; Jeff Ifrah Responds
*photo obtained from https://gameora.tumblr.com/ In light of unprecedented controversy over the legality of “skin betting” and eSports gambling, Jeff Ifrah and two other attorneys took to Reddit to answer questions from players, fans, and professionals. Together with Bryce Blum and Ryan Morrison, Ifrah participated in an AUA (“Ask Us Anything”) thread on July 5, 2016—just…
Read More