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Fantasy Sports Passes the Test: New York High Court Rules Fantasy Sports Are Legal
Mar 22, 2022
Fantasy Sports Passes the Test: New York High Court Rules Fantasy Sports Are Legal
In the lull of a midweek break from March Madness, New York’s highest court made noise Tuesday when it finally handed down its fantasy sports ruling, confirming that fantasy sports contests are legal in the state. Fantasy sports players might not have even noticed it was a question: Tens of millions of people play fantasy…
Shaken to the Core
Sep 26, 2021
Shaken to the Core
This month in San Francisco, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple must stop forcing game developers to exclusively use its payment system in their app purchases. With the ruling, app developers can include a link or other advertisement to facilitate alternative ways of paying for each app. The suit was brought…
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
Sep 24, 2019
A Comeback Victory: Appeals Court Says Monmouth Park Owner is Entitled to Recover Damages from NCAA and Sports Leagues
It has been over a year since the Supreme Court found that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional in Murphy v. NCAA, and countless states have legalized sports gambling in the time since, but the legal fallout from the Murphy case is still weaving its way from the courts. Early in…
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
Jun 4, 2019
New Hampshire Federal Court Finds Wire Act Is Limited to Gambling on Sporting Events
On June 3, 2019, Judge Paul Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued a 60-page opinion holding that the Wire Act is limited to sports gambling. Judge Barbadoro’s opinion resolved litigation between the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, its service provider (NeoPollard), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), over…
DOJ High-Wire Act
Apr 29, 2019
DOJ High-Wire Act
Heavyweight parties are slugging it out in a lawsuit in the Granite State, and Ifrah Law is taking a lead role in protecting the interests of America’s rapidly growing online gaming industry. The New Hampshire civil case comes on the heels of the Department of Justice (DOJ) releasing an interpretation of the federal Wire Act…
Update on 1/14/19 OLC Wire Act Opinion – All Eyes on New Hampshire
Apr 9, 2019
Update on 1/14/19 OLC Wire Act Opinion – All Eyes on New Hampshire
(This post was originally published on 1/15/2019 and updated on 4/8/2019) On Jan. 14, 2019, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion reversing its 2011 position on the Wire Act and sports betting, contradicting not just itself but decisions by at least two District Courts and dicta by the U.S. Supreme…
An Epic Fail: Complaint Against Fortnite Creator Based On Facts As Stale As Fruitcake
Mar 5, 2019
An Epic Fail: Complaint Against Fortnite Creator Based On Facts As Stale As Fruitcake
Parents can get angry when their kids spend too much time or money on video games. We get it. But going after a gaming company in retaliation is probably not the best response. And doing so without actually understanding the game can result in, well, a giant waste of time, or, in a recent example,…
NASPL Responds to the DOJ Reversal of Opinion
Feb 5, 2019
NASPL Responds to the DOJ Reversal of Opinion
On February 4, 2019, the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (“NASPL”) issued a statement responding to the Department of Justice’s January 14, 2019, opinion regarding the Wire Act of 1961. In its statement, the NASPL hints that the DOJ failed to consider the effects its latest Wire Act opinion would have on…
Ruling in Daniels v. FanDuel Highlights the Value of Sports Data and Contemporary Culture
Oct 29, 2018
Ruling in Daniels v. FanDuel Highlights the Value of Sports Data and Contemporary Culture
More good news for sports betting operators exploring U.S. markets: the Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the “newsworthy value” of sports player stats. The ruling will make it harder for leagues and players to exercise control over (or to extract rents from) the distribution of player data. The case, Daniels v. FanDuel, was brought by…
Ifrah Law Article on SCOTUS Sports Betting Decision in George Washington Law Review
May 30, 2018
Ifrah Law Article on SCOTUS Sports Betting Decision in George Washington Law Review
In their recent article published in the George Washington Law Review, firm founder Jeff Ifrah and associate David Yellin describe the three immediate effects of the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA: “this ruling immediately legalizes sports betting in New Jersey, opens up a logjam that states, casinos, and foreign sportsbooks have been hoping…
