Attorney Generals from across the United States seem to have it out for daily fantasy sports. The state of New York started the trend in which DFS contests were deemed illegal gambling and now the AG of Mississippi has come to the very same conclusion.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission requested the state AG, Jim Hood, to clarify as to if the games are legal based on the language of the state laws. Hood decided to rule that DFS is illegal based on the state laws. Now, Mississippi joins such states as Vermont, Texas, New York and Nevada who believe DFS is illegal gambling.
The judgement by Hood applies to all areas of fantasy sports including daily fantasy sports. The ruling includes if the games are played at licensed gaming facilities or anywhere else within the state. Hood assessed DFS claiming that fantasy sports and wagering on horseracing and sports are similar, with sports and horse racing being illegal within the state.
Hood stated: “In either case, daily and season-long fantasy sports, winners are selected based on the tally of points earned by the athletes. This method of play is similar to betting on a horse race of making a parlay bet.”
Hood did state the outcome is different than betting on a standard football game because the player has to choose a team but still choose to rule the activity illegal. The game of skill argument was also discussed with Hood stating that the argument as to if the activity is skill or chance is irrelevant since the knowledge level of the player is not based on the definition of the wager and an element of chance exists in the industry.
Hood argued that the possible existence of a skill element in choosing players for a game is irrelevant to any charge of gambling on fantasy sports based on the Mississippi Code Section 97-33-1.
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