AG Paxton Says Daily Fantasy Sports Sites Against Texas Law
By: Josh Clark
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DALLAS (CBSDFW) - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has weighed in on daily fantasy sports as he released the following statement on the fast-growing business today:
"It's my duty as Attorney General to look to the law, as passed by the people's representatives, to answer the questions put to this office," Attorney General Ken Paxton said. "Paid daily 'fantasy sports' operators claim they can legally operate as an unregulated house, but none of their arguments square with existing Texas law. Simply put, it is prohibited gambling in Texas if you bet on the performance of a participant in a sporting event and the house takes a cut."
It's another huge blow for the fantasy sports community. In November, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel to stop taking bets in the state, concluding them as illegal sports betting sites. However, an appeals court judge ruled in December that the companies can continue taking bets from New York based residents until the legality of daily fantasy sports can be further considered.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has an exclusive partnership with DraftKings that includes an official DraftKings lounge at AT&T Stadium.
At the time, Jerry Jones was very excited about the future of daily fantasy sports:
"DraftKings and the Cowboys share the same passion for football, sports and business, making this a natural partnership," said Cowboys Executive Vice President/Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Jerry Jones, Jr. in August. "The daily segment of fantasy sports is exploding, with more fans joining every day. DraftKings has established itself as the pre-eminent service in daily fantasy sports. Their commitment to providing its customers with the best experience possible is unrivaled, which should be a tremendous benefit to our fans as they experience all DraftKings has to offer at the new fantasy lounge."
Just two weeks ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban invested in a daily fantasy sports analytics site, known as Fantasy Labs. He voiced his opinion to Paxton on twitter after the announcement was made.
It's not known at this time how quickly daily fantasy sports access will be taken away from Texans, however, a long court battle is sure to be on the horizon.
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