New York Bans Pick'em Fantasy Games
Plus: Michigan may soon follow, and what happened to college sports data.
Welcome to your weekly roundup! This week: New York bans pick’em daily fantasy gaming, Michigan could be next, and why colleges sports data deals aren’t getting done. If you liked reading this, please subscribe or share it with a friend. Have a great week!
Market Movers
New York has shut down pick’em: The state deemed pick’em prop gaming as a form of gambling. The move, which affects companies like PrizePicks, Underdog and Betr, is a setback for the daily fantasy industry. Florida also recently sent “cease and desist” letters to daily fantasy operators.
Michigan, too: Meanwhile, Michigan is also close to banning pick’em prop daily fantasy contests. The state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved the rules proposed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Michigan’s Secretary of State can now make the final approval of the rules. The Coalition for Fantasy Sports, representing PrizePicks, Sleeper, and Underdog, has organized a campaign to try to stop the ban.
Where’s the college sports data? Has the appetite for a big college sports data evaporated? The Big Ten was reportedly closing in on a major data deal with Genius in late 2022, but it hasn’t happened. With unlicensed “data scouting” as well as a recent AGA prohibition of college sports partnerships promoting or marketing gambling, the economics have changed and the data is now more difficult to monetize, according to Sportico.
What we’re reading
U.S. Integrity and Odds on Compliance, two large gaming compliance providers, are merging. U.S. Integrity’s clients include William Hill, NBA, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC.
An investigation found there were no attempts to fix games in the Iowa betting scandal.
Playtech is hit with a lawsuit by its partner and Mexican online casino and sports betting firm Caliplay, which is operated by Grupo Caliente.
A sports gambling bill in Oklahoma isn’t gaining support to pass.
Tipco was the top rated U.S. casino app, according to Eilers & Krejcik.
Overheard
“Well, the issue is that we’re way bigger than them in fantasy today because they haven’t innovated and they know that we’re coming for sports betting and more. And they know what that looks like because we’re way bigger than they were when they started coming for sports betting five years ago. We have way more active customers and we’ll do way more revenue this year than they did five years ago.” — Underdog Fantasy CEO Jeremy Levine, talking about why FanDuel and DraftKings are against daily fantasy.
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