Fine Line Exists Between Gambling and Fantasy Sports

Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC|March 20, 2013

Many people in the U.S. that are trying to avoid violating sports law as it relates to gambling have turned to fantasy sports as an alternative.

Fine Line Exists Between Gambling and Fantasy Sports

Many people in the U.S. that are trying to avoid violating sports law as it relates to gambling have turned to fantasy sports as an alternative.

The New York Times reports that while betting money on fantasy sports sites is protected under federal law as exemptions to online gambling, there is a fine line between them that is quickly becoming challenged in state courts. For example, two cases have already been brought to Illinois and New Jersey courtrooms as wagering companies began to change the rules of the game. Under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, wagering games in which winners are not determined by the outcome of a single game or player are exempted from gambling restrictions.

However, some companies are now offering betting and wagering on games that take place over a shorter period of time, the Times reports. Industry professionals argue that daily, weekly or monthly fantasy sports fall under a different realm that season-long sports. As a result, this may blur the lines between legal wagering and gambling.

“On the spectrum of legality to illegality, they’re getting pretty close to the line,” Ryan Rodenberg, an assistant professor of sports law at Florida State University, told the Times. “It’s tough to make an intellectually honest distinction between the two.”